ANNUAL HOLIDAYS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 128, 26 November 1938, Page 10

ANNUAL HOLIDAYS

MUTUAL AGREEMENT

CLOTHING TRADES AWARDS

When the Clothing and Allied Trades Awards were issued by the Court of Arbitration some.months ago provision was made for an annual holiday of one week on full pay for all workers on completion of a year of service. Whether the "year of service" meant a year's service under the award or whether time served, prior to the date on which the award came into force is to be counted Ijas given rise to much argument.

Proceedings were instituted in Auckland recently by the Labour Department against the Hydra Bacon Company for failure to grant a week's holiday to a worker who had completed a year of service, only part of which had been served within the period covered by the award. This was treated as a test case and it was hoped that the Court's judgment would clarify the position. Unfortunately these hopes were not realised, for the Court's judgment is capable of two different interpretations. With the object of getting the matter finalised by mutual agreement, Mr. P. H. Kinsman, officer in charge of the Wellington branch of the Labour Department, called a conference on Tuesday of representatives of the workers' union, the Manufacturers' Association, and the trades concerned, that is, clothing, shirt white and silk, and dressmaking and millinery. At this conference and in subsequent negotiations Mr. E. B. Newton represented the workers, and Mr. A. W. Nisbet the manufacturers. No finality was reached at the conference, but subsequent negotiations resulted in a written offer being submitted by the workers yesterday morning. This was considered later in the day by the employers and formally accepted on behalf of the Wellington manufacturers yesterday evening. TERMS OF SETTLEMENT. The terms of the settlement are as follows: —(a) Five days' paid holiday at Christmas, in addition to December 26 and 27 and January 2, to be allowed to all workers employed at December 23; (b) any worker leaving or being dismissed between today's date and December 23 to receive payment in lieu of such holidays unless qualified to receive such holiday by employment elsewhere; (c) the qualifying period for the next annual holiday to commence on January 1, 1939. While the above agreement applies only to the Wellington district, it is anticipated that it will be ratified in the other centres at an early date and when that has been done application will be made to the Court of Arbitration for the necessary amendment of the awards concerned.

Independent. negotiations have been proceeding between the workers and the employers in Christchurch and Auckland, where a settlement on similar, though not identical, lines has been discussed. Mr: J. Roberts, of Christchurch, secretary of the New Zealand Clothing Trades Federation, before leaving for the South Island last night, expressed his appreciation of the manner in which the negotiations had been conducted and his confident anticipation that the Wellington settlement would pave the way for an early agreement covering the Dominion.