CLERICAL WORKERS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 55, 6 March 1937, Page 15

CLERICAL WORKERS

OTAGQ DISPUTE

HOLIDAY PROVISIONS

(By Telegraph—Press Association.)

DUNEDIN, March 5.

The Court of Arbitration was engaged today in hearing the Otago clerical workers' dispute, the adjournment being taken before the whole of the evidence had been heard.

In connection with applications for exemption by law and accountant firms the Court said it would take time to

consider its decision.

Referring to the general dispute, Mr. Herbert, for the union, stated that substantial agreement had been arrived at in conciliation council on most of the points involved along the lines of the award given by the Court in Wellington. The clauses in dispute were those relating to the Anniversary Day holiday, the claim for two days off duty to newspaper clerks who had to work on a statutory holiday, and the scope of the award. Mr. Herbert, submitted that there should be no argument necessary for the Court to include Anniversary Day, as it had given this holiday in the Wellington award. In regard to the second matter in dispute he contended that newspaper clerks were called upon to -work on statutory holidays wh'en most other workers were free. For this convenience to employers, these workers should be recompensed with additional time off which would be more than ordinary time. Dealing with the scope of the award, Mr. Herbert said that in conciliation council the employers although not opposing the scope asked for by the. union, refused to .take the responsibility of agreeing to the union's claims in the matter. In the Otago district there were no towns of any size outside of Oamaru, and as the union had members in all districts in Otago he-urged that the Court should fix the scope of the award to cover the whole of the Otago district.

Mr. Cookson, for the employers, said that the reason for contesting the application for the Anniversary Day holiday was. that Anniversary Day was not observed generally as a holiday in Otago. Factories did not close- but offices did. The holiday would still be observed in the latter case. With regard to newspaper clerks Mr. Cookson submitted that one day off was sufficient for work done on any one statutory holiday. The employers asked that the award should apply only within a 12-mile radius of Dunedin and not to the whole of the Otago district, because the union was not familiar with the: position ruling in other parts of the district other than Dunedin.

The Court adjourned until Monday.