FIFTH HEARING

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 77, 28 September 1938, Page 15

FIFTH HEARING

THEATRICAL WORKERS

CONCILIATION DISPUTE

The claims of front-of-the-house theatre employees for an award were before the conciliation council this morning for the fifth time this year. In the present proceedings an award to cover the Northern, Taranaki, Wellington, Marlborough, and Canterbury industrial districts is sought. Little progress was made this morning and at the adjournment the employers were considering an amended wages proposal by the employees. Mr. M. J. Reardon presided. ! Assessors for the employers were Messrs. W. Burton (Wellington), L. Quinn (Wellington), G. H. Saunders (New Plymouth), E. S. Morse (Lyttelton), M. Sayer (Auckland), and N. Edgar (Auckland), with Mr. W. J. Mountj oy as agent. Mr. R. Usmar (Wellington) appeared in an advisory capacity. Assessors for the employees ' were Miss Z. Braund (New Plymouth), Mrs. R. M. Rowlands (Blenheim), and Messrs. G. Fleming (New Plymouth), W. T. Quealy (Auckland), A. Tongue (Christchurch), and J. Fleming (Wellington), with Mr. F. P. Walsh (Wellington) as agent. Tracing the history of the dispute, Mr. Mountj oy said the conciliation council heard a dispute on March 15 and on April 11 this year, covering only the Wellington district, when the principal clauses were referred to the Court. The union withdrew its application and filed claims for a fresh dispute to cover Taranaki, Wellington, and Marlborough. The conciliation council met in the combined dispute on July 20, when, after only a few clauses had been agreed to, it was decided to adjourn to August 9. Subsequently the union asked the Canterbury employers to be added to the parties. When the Auckland front-of-house employees' dispute came before the Court on September 12/ Mr. Justicej O'Regan directed that it be referred | back to the parties for consideration and suggested that perhaps a conference of parties from various distri^ might be held with a view to oh' ing a Dominion award. It ha'" arranged for the Auckland d" io be heard in conjunction wi+* -*c present dispute. A separate award wa r nought for sporting bodies, said T' In the previous ' -gs agreement was reached on J A 36 a week for attendants gen^ and 32 for ticketsellers, on the l,.;^s of a six-hour day. Wages for adult males were agreed to at £4 a week. As there were now fresh parties the agreements reached previously are not binding. The union's claims were as follows, with the counter-claims in parentheses: —Picture theatres: Hours, 32 generally, with 36 for commissionaires (40 generally); wages, female ticket-sellers £3 (£2), general employees, male £4 10s ! ( £4), female £3 (£2). Caretakers and [cleaners: Hours, 40 (40); wages, caretakers £5 10s (£4 10s), male cleaners £4 15s (£4 Is), female cleaners, (£2 ss), with hourly rates for casuals of 3s (2s 3d for males and Is 5d for females). Two weeks' annual holiday were sought, the employers' offer being one week.