CONCILIATION COUNCIL

Evening Star, Issue 18053, 22 August 1922, Page 4

CONCILIATION COUNCIL

SHEARERS’ WAGES AND CONDITIONS. The Conciliation Commissioner (Mr W, H. Bagger) sat this morning to hear a dispute between the Otago and Southland Sheep Owners’ Union ot Employers and the Otago and Southland Sheared Union. Messrs Steve Boreham, W. D. Boreham, and Colin M'Donald for the union, and Messrs Jas. Begg, R. S. Charters, and Jas. A. Roberts, for the employers, were the assessors, with Mr A. S. Cookson as agent. The Commissioner said efforts had been made in various parts of the dominion to settle the dispute, but up to the present no settlement had been arrived at.

, Mr S. Boreham said the union was desirous of coming to a dominion understandThe branches of the union were affiliated with the New Zealand Workers’ Union, but they had the right of local autonomy. The union wanted all sheep farmers cited, the big farmer as well as the small fanner.

The employers, the applicants in the ease, asked in their claims that the hours of work should bo from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., or from 5.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., with intervals for meals and smoking to bo agreed upon between the shed manager and the shearers’ representative; shearing on Saturdays to stop at 4 p.m., except ill the case when forty-eight hours and twenty minutes’ work should have been done before noon, in which case the work would ■stop then. Rates of pay were offered as follow:—For shearing by hand, not less than £1 per 100, with rations; for shearby machine, not less than £1 per 100, with rations ; for shearing lambs, not loss than 17s 6d per 100, with rations. In cases where the shearers found themselves in rations; the above rates were to be increased by 4s per 100; rates for stud sheep to be settled by agreement; rates for shearing hogget rams to bo rate and aha!f, and for other rams double ordinary rate. For shed hands the following wages were offered Pressers, 50s weekly, or Is 5d hourly; all other shed hands, 45s weekly, or Is 4d hourly; youths over 16 years and under 18, 35s weekly, or 1b hourly; cooks, 60s (for twelve men or under); cooks’ assistants, 50s per week. Where workers were not provided with ra, lions, an extra. £1 per week was offered. The union asked in its counter-claims for the following rates of pay:—For shearing by hand, not less than £1 10s per. 100 sheep, with rations, and two -pairs of shears for eadh 700 sheep and on© pair for 700 sheep when long wools were being shorn; shearing by machine, not less than £1 10s per 100, with rations, an extra 5s a. hundred when shearing merinos; shearing lambs, not less than £E 10s per 100, with rations; rales for stud sheep to be settled by agreement; rates for sheading all rams to bs double ordinary rates. For sited hands the following rates were asked : —Pressers, £5 10s weekly, or 2s 9d hourly, by the piece, 9d per cwt, or 2s 6d a bale; aIE other hands, £4 weekly, or 2s 4d hourly; cooks. £5 a week (for twelve men and under), £7_ (from 12 to 20 men) with one assistant; cook’s assistant, £5; to all workers where rations were not provided, 30s per week extra. For shearing machine experts in sheds with four to eight hands the union asked for £1 a day or £6 a week; in sheds with over eight hands, £1 5s a day or £7 a week. For crutching by hand or by machine the union asked'for not loss than 9s per 100, and where wigging was required an extra Is per 100. The danse relating to hours of work and most of the clauses dealing with conditions of employment were agreed to. The clauses respecting machine experts and crutchers were referred to the court. The question of rates of pay was held over till the resumption of the sitting after lunch, Mr Boreham promising to consult with the other assessors and members of the union in the meantime.