PAPER MILLS WORKERS

Evening Star, Issue 17850, 22 December 1921, Page 12

PAPER MILLS WORKERS

COMPr.iiTE agbeiment. Mr W- H. Hagger, Conciliation Commissioner, sat yesterday afternoon l , the business being the paper mills dispute. The employers were represented by Mr A. S. CooKson as agent and Messrs H. L. Dolamore and W. Ross as assessors. The union was represented by Mr L. F. Evans as agent and Messrs A. Laury, A. Pobar, and J. Barclay as assessors. The union claimed a higher basic wag© and a lowering of the bonus with the effect of increasing the total wage. The rates asked were: Machine men. Is lid per hour: beatemen. Is lid; finishers’ chargemen, Is 9j; cuttermen, Is 84d ( boiler hand chargeman, Is 9jd; boilerhousemen and choppermen, Is 8d; baler, Is 8d; finishers, Is 7d, yardmen, Is 7d; all others, Is 76 ; paper pickers, 10d per cwt. The rates for youths and for females were not altered. The bonus asked 1 for was 33d per hour to hourly workers, 6a a week to youths. 6s 6d to females over twenty-one, and 6s a week to females under twenty-one. Mr Dolamore explained the difficulty of meeting Canadian competition, where the employees there had accepted a 25 per cent, reduction in wages. The increases asked amounted to about id an hour all round, which would make a difference of about 16s a ton in the cost of manufacture. After a brief retirement Mr Evans reported that the assessors would! stand by the wages demand and take the risk of short time employment. Mr Dolamore said ho was prepared to add 3sd on to the present award rates, except in the case of finishers’ chargemen, who were to get 4d extra, and to make that a now basic rate, and to add to that a bonus of 3d. This would be the same as the Auckland rates. After retirement this offer was accepted. A complete agreement, was eventually reached, the union agreeing to drop Anznc Day from the proposed list of holidays and £b drop the proposed dirt money clause. The award is to come into operation on January 4 for a period of eighteen months.