MILL WORKERS

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 69, 23 March 1938, Page 13

MILL WORKERS

WOOL AND HOSIERY

CLAIMS FOR NEW AWARD

Today, Mr. W. T. Young, as advocate for the employees of Dominion woollen mills and hosiery factories, completed I a long job—that of reading to the Court of Arbitration eighty-four foolscap sheets of typewritten matter. In the main this voluminous budget represented the case of the workers in their application to the Court for a new Dominion award to replace the award made on August 31, 1928. In addition, Mr. Young had read to the Court a separate address occupying a little more than nine typewritten foolscap sheets covering an application to bring within the scope of the new award the wages of clerks employed in the mills and factories that are to be parties to the a\vard.

The reading to the Court -began yesterday morning; it was continued in the afternoon until the Court adjourned at 5 p.m., and was completed at 11.30 a.m. today.

The dispute was heard by Mr. Justice O'Regan in association with Mr. W. Cecil Prime and Mr. A. L. Monteith.

With Mr. Young for the workers was Mr. W. W. Batchelor. Mr. A. S. Cookson, with him Mr. James Evans, appeared for the.employers: The concluding part of Mr. Young's address (which he followed up by calling witnesses to give evidence) dealt with a great deal of statistical matter relating to the financial position of woollen mills and hosiery factories. The number bf employees had increased, he said. This was a reflection of. the gradual and permanent increase in the demand for production of the industries, which necessarily gave the proprietors a greater net profit. Mr. Young dealt also with the recent Tariff ' adjustments. He' cited certain Tariff items as showing the assistance rendered by the amendments to the New Zealand employers in the industry. . When Mr. Young had concluded his address, his Honour complimented him on having prepared such a comprehen-. sive statement providing much valuable information for the use of the Court. Much interesting' data regarding the financial position of the companies had been compiled by Mr. Young, said his Honour, but it was not strictly relevant because the Court had to fix wages to meet general conditions; it could not fix them according to the ability of a particular company to pay. ■ . . . . ~ James Drummond, secretary of the Timaru branch of the Canterbury Union, and an employee in the Timaru Woollen Mills, was the first witness called by Mr. Young. He said he had been employed in the woollen industry for twenty-five years and gave evidence regarding conditions of work.

(Proceeding.)