FISH-SHOP AWARD

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 78, 29 September 1938, Page 5

FISH-SHOP AWARD

COURT DIVIDED

MR. CROSKERY'S CRITICISM

"A further contribution to the wagereducing policy, which, in my opinion, this Court has entered upon," was the description applied by Mr. A. W. Croskery, -workers' representative on the Second Court of Arbitration, to the majority decision of the Court fixing the weekly wages of first shopmen at £5 5s and of other workers at £4 15s under the Wellington fish shop employees' award, issued by the Court today. In Mr. Croskery's opinion it had been clearly shown in evidence that the work of a first shopman was of a very similar nature to that of the same worker in a butcher's shop, who received £6 ss.

A majority of the Court had recently decided that all shop workers, required to work a 44-hour, week were to receive at least 7s 6d per week increase, but the fish shop workers .had not received even that increase on their, present rates, said Mr. Croskerry. His remarks applied also to general hands, who were previously paid £4 10s and now have been awarded £4 15s. He was of the opinion that a 40----hour week should have been awarded, and that it could : have been worked by a rearrangement of the hours of work. A majority of the Court decided that the 44 hours could be worked inside a span of 46^ hours, and with that decision he totally disagreed.

"The workers by their claims asked for a 40-hour five-day week," said a memorandum by Mr. Justice Hunter. "The Court is tsatisfied that it is impracticable to 'carry on the industry efficiently on a 40-hour week, for the reasons that the goods sold are highly, perishable, Saturday is a very busy day in the industry, it is not practicable in the area covered by this award to reduce the hours to be worked from Monday to Friday inclusive^ below those prescribed by this award, and the public would be seriously inconvenienced if they were unable to obtain their supplies from fish shops on Sat-j urdays. On these grounds the Court has refused to grant a. 40-hour week in this industry. POLICY TOWARDS WAGES. "Mr. Croskery dissents from the v decision of the majority in respectv to wages and hours, and regarding the former he says that this is a further contribution to the wage-reducing policy which in his opinion this Court has entered upon," says Mr. Justice; Hunter. ) "He thus reiterates the statement he made in his dissent to the shop assistants' award issued on September 16, where he expressed the opinion that a majority of the Court had set out on a wage-reducing campaign. In that case the Court awarded an increase of 7s 6d per week to senior male assistants and 5s per week to senior female assistants and increases to juniors. In the pronouncement of the Court of Arbitration made on December 2 last, it was said: 'As to wages, a general increase of 5s per week, in in line with the increase the Court proposes generally to award to adult male weekly workers, has been made on existing rates.' This Court has specifically declared its adherence to the terms of that pronouncement. Wh^n this Court ;,was ; faced with the, task of making Dominion awards for' grocers, shop assistants, and chemists, lifter conferring with ;; Mr. ' Justice O'Began, it took into account the fact that workers in the retail trades have usually worked longer hours than in other trades and that it was necessary to work lon Saturday mornings and awarded an increase of 7s 6d per week. This decision was followed in the shop assistants' and chemists' awards, the same increase of 7s 6d per week being awarded. In this case of the "Wellington industrial district workers in fish shops, the Court was unable to fix wages simply by adding 7s 6d per week to existing wage rates because this is the first award in the industry. ... REASONS FOR AMOUNTS FIXED. "A majority of the Court decided that the wage for a first'shopman in' this first award in this industry should be £5 5s and for other workers £4 15s. The former was fixed by taking the wage of a senior grocer's assistant or senior shop assistant in the recent awards, which was raised from £4 15s to £5 2s 6d by the 7s 6d increase abovementioned, and adding thereto a further 2* 6d. This is considered to be a fair and reasonable wage, having regard to the work to be done and the hours to be worked. A difference of 10s per week between the first shopman and other workers is considered reasonable and in line with similar cases and the wage for the latter was fixed at £4 155."

The award, which is to come into operation on October 3 for one year, fixes a 44-hour s^-day wej*k. Youths' wages fixed by it range from £ 1 2s 6d a week for those between 15 and 15£ to £3 12s 6d for those between 20 and 21. Overtime is to. be paid to workers at the rate of time and a half for the first. four hours and double time thereafter. A week's annual holiday on full pay and ten statutory holidays with pay are given.