THEATRE PROJECTIONISTS

Evening Star, Issue 22517, 9 December 1936, Page 6

THEATRE PROJECTIONISTS

AWARD PROCEEDINGS [Per United Press Association'.] WELLINGTON, December 8. In the Arbitration Court to-day the claim of the New Zealand hederated Motion Picture Projectionists Industrial Association of Workers was conJ. Reardon, for the applicants, called a number of witnesses to give evidence regarding the work done by projectionists. Dr P P. Lynch said there was a quantity of fine flaky dust from the carbons used for lighting purposes, but he had never met a case where that dust injured health. He believed most of it would be arrested by the nostrils.

The boxes became hot and stuffy, and he considered that some form of contrqlled ventilation would improve the working conditions. , , • , Mr W. J. Mountjoy, for the theatre owners, said that much had been made of the film tax paid in New Zealand, and it had been suggested that large sums of money went into the pockets of American picture corporations. But the court could not be expected to regulate the charges of the overseas film companies. The employers asked the court to fix the wages and hour* of the workers on the. basis of conditions ruling in New Zealand and m keeping with the wages and hours m other industries where the work was of similar value. The dispute before the court was the result of the union s withdrawal of a ■ previous citation which had passed through the Conciliation Council, where an almost complete agreement had been reached. In the case before the court very little had been agreed to. The claims made by the workers were considered impossible by the employers for both country and metropolitan theatres. Mr Mount) oy submitted that the award made for Christchurch last February gave a good indication of the value of projectiouists.