JOURNALISTS' AWARD

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 17, 21 January 1937, Page 11

JOURNALISTS' AWARD

WRONG IMPRESSION

CREATED

UNION'S STATEMENT

The proprietors of the "Evening Post" took exception to a report of the proceedings in the Arbitration Court as it appeared in the "Standard," the official journal of the New Zealand Labour movement, of December 17 last. "The Post," through its solicitors, took the matter up with the proprietors of the "Standard," with the result that in the issue of that paper of January 21 appeared the following:— "Following upon the report of proceedings in the Arbitration Court recently in which the New Zealand Journalists' Association presented its case for a new award, the following letter has been received from Mr. Gordon Freeman, president of the New Zealand Journalists' Association:— 'To the Editor, 'The "Standard," 'Wellington. 'Sir, —On behalf of the New Zealand Journalists' Association, I wish to take this opportunity of removing a false impression which has been created by references made in the association's case recently presented to the Arbitration Court to the production of the "Sports Post" by Messrs. Blundell Bros. The association at no time had any intention of suggesting that the "Sports Post" was produced under conditions in which the staff is inadequately remunerated, and in certain respects those responsible for the drafting of the case were misinformed as to the actual conditions obtaining. Members of the "Evening Post" staff making contributions to the "Sports Post" do receive extra financial consideration, and others assisting in the production of the paper work within the hours specified by the Wellington Journalists' Award. It should be pointed out that, far from underpaying their employees, Messrs. Blundell Bros, give the members of their staff every consideration, and in many cases journalists, as well as those in other departments, receive salaries and wages in excess of those provided for in awards of the Arbitration Court. This has been the case for many years. In view of the publicity given by the "Standard" to the association's case in its issue of December 17, 1936, I would ask if you would publish this letter in as prominent a place as possible.' "The report on the proceedings for an award brought in the Arbitration Court by the Journalists' Association which appeared in 'The Standard' of December 17 last was a verbatim account of the statements made to the Court by the workers' agent, Mr. A. W. Croskery, on instructions from the union concerned. From the above letter and from Messrs. Blundell Bros, we have been assured that no promises of extra payment as stated during the Court proceedings were ever made, and that consequently Messrs. Blundell Bros, have been misrepresented and a wrong impression created. The caption was not intended to imply that the staff was receiving no payment for .their work."