FIRE BRIGADES' UNION

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 71, 25 March 1938, Page 5

FIRE BRIGADES' UNION

THE LOCAL DISPUTE

WAGES THE BAR

The dispute between the Wellington Fire Brigades' Employees' Industrial Union of Workers and the Wellington Fire Board was heard in conciliation council yesterday afternoon before the Conciliation Commissioner, Mr. M. J. Reardon. The assessors for the workers were Messrs. J. A. Dale, F. O. Eemy, E. A. Weakley, and L. Glover, agent. The assessors for the employers were Messrs. N. W. Nelson, W. J. Gaudin, G. C. Edwards, and W. J. Mountjoy (agent). Superintendent Woolley and the secretary of the board (Mr. H. S. Fairchild) were also present. The^position was somewhat peculiar in the fact'that the parties had not met since 1936, when a partial agreement had been reached, but since the issue of the Christchurch award; they had been more or less observing its provisions. The march of wages in the interim all over New Zealand has been rapid, and the position has become complicated by the fact that the employers' old offers were countered by fresh demands by the workers, with the result that wages were only casually mentioned during the proceedings, but, in addition to the other clauses agreed upon on the former occasion, many agreements were reached yesterday in regard to conditions. The wages offered by the employers ranged from £3 7s 6d for probationers to £4 10s for senior firemen (the offer of a year and nine months ago), while the workers demanded from £4 2s 2d for probationers to £5 2s 2d for firstgrade brigadesmen, senior class brigadesmen £5 ss, station officer £6 ss, senior station officer £6 15s, district officer £7 ss. Despite the apparent incongruities of the position some ground was made. It was agreed that a third-class fireman should be one who has completed the probationary period and has passed the necessary oral examination, and has been passed as such by the superintendent, and approved by the board. In regard to the definition of secondand first-grade firemen there was a difference of opinion. Mr. Glover thought that these grades should be reached with one and two years' service respectively, while Mr. Mountjoy considered that the periods should be two and three years. The workers' representative was averse to the written examination sought by the employers, on the ground that a satisfactorily efficient, practical fireman might fail in theories on paper, owing to lack of education. The employers considered the written examinations a test of efficiency. This point was momentarily abandoned. House allowance of £1 2s 6d for married men without quarters was agreed to. i Some discussion ensued an the question of pay for relief duty. Mr. Glover. sought a new concession, that the man who relieved another of higher qualifications should receive the pay of the man he relieved, and wished to fix the limit of period for this purpose at a week or less. The employers pointed out that in no commercial undertaking did this apply, the man relieving welcoming the experience he gained as sufficient recompense, and that, moreover, the holiday period being 28 days, a limited period could not apply. No agreement was reached. While the right to call on. firemen at any time for urgent fire work on Sunday was understood, it was agreed that no other work should be done except the cleaning of quarters and other necessary work, the time to be occu-. pied in this not to exceed one halfhour. Mr. Glover asked that the term of the award should be only two months, on the ground that the other awards in the centres would then expire, and suggested that the Wellington award arrived at should thereafter run until a Dominion award was obtained. "The board might be better off with the conditions agreed to by the other centres," ventured Mr. Mountjoy. Mr. Nelson said that there might be some points agreeable to other centres which would not suit Wellington at all. ■ '. ' It being realised that it was hopeless to consider wages further, it was agreed that two representatives of each side should confer and meet on Monday at the fire station to endeavour to come to an agreement regarding the clauses still in dispute, the representatives' recommendations to be submitted to the assessors and the board in the hope that there would be nothing to discuss in the court but wages.