CITY JOURNALISTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 67, 21 March 1939, Page 13

CITY JOURNALISTS

NEW AWARD ISSUED A Dominion award, covering the salaries and conditions of employment !of journalists employed on metropolij tan daily newspapers has been issued by the Court of Arbitration. Hours of work are fixed at 80 per fortnight for sub«ditjorial and proofreading staffs and 84 per fortnight for all other workers, with the proviso that the maximum number of ■ hours that may be worked in- one week without payment of overtime shall be 46. In his memorandum, Mr. Justice O'Regan states that the majority of the Court is satisfied that the application of the 40-hour week to the work of the Press reporter is accompanied by such hardship and inconvenience to the employer that it should not be continued. The award'increases the salaries of assistant sub-editors, senior reporters, general reporters, and photographers by 10s per week, those of junior reporters and readers by 5s per week, and those of cadets by 2s 6d per week. The salaries clause is retrospective to December 19, 1038. Assistant sub-editors and reporters are granted an annual holiday of three weeks ■ and all others covered by the award two weeks. With the exception of the salaries clauses, the awsrd is to operate from March 27 next and it has a term of two years. * In concluding his memorandum, Mr. Justice O'Regan states: "The members of the Court are not in agreement on all the matters decided. Mr. Monteith is emphatically of the opinion that the evidence did not justify the increase in the ordinary hours of work per week, as no overtime has been worked under the expired award. He contends, further, that the increased rate awarded to junior reporters does not compensate them.for. the additional hours to be worked. Mr. Prime is strongly of the opinion that the evidence showed it to be necessary to delete altogether the clause providing for an eleven-hour break between assignments; he thinks also that the increased rates awarded to some classes of workers whose hours have not been increased are excessive, and that the holiday awarded to workers in the proof-reading department is not justified on the evidence before the Court. While expressing these opinions, the members make no formal dissent in order that the award may be made." :