UNFAIR COMPETITION

Evening Star, Issue 22721, 7 August 1937, Page 11

UNFAIR COMPETITION

GROCERY SHOPS AND DAIRIES SAME HOURS URGED [Per United Press Association.] NEW PLYMOUTH, August G. The Taranaki grocers’ dispute was before the Arbitration Court to-day, and was adjourned to Auckland. No agreement was reached on the hours of work, wages, holidays, rates for casual labour, and the closing of shops. Over 200 employers were.cited. Action to prevent competition between grocery shops and dairies after the business hours of the former was sought from the court by both parties. The claims for an award and the counter proposals both included a clause seeking to enforce the same business hours on grocery shops and others selling the same main lines. Mr A. W. Croskery, the union’s representative, gave it as his opinion that the Shops and Offices Act would give the power that both sides, sought. It was provided by the Act that parties to an award, whether they employed assistants or not, should observe any hours laid down by that award. The suggested clause in the award that the court was asked to make defined the lines sold by grocers, and when that was included dairies, or any other business substantially competing with grocers, would be added as parties to the award. There was a similar instance In the case of butchers’ shops, he added. Any shop selling fresh meat had to observe the same hours 0s butchers.

“ One takes only a quart of milk a day and sells groceries at night,” skid Mr Croskery, when mentioning that at there were 78 dairies. Some of those dairies were in unfair competition with grocers. The union had urged the grocers to try to protect themselves before, but this was the first time the employers had adopted the suggestion. As the dispute was adjourned to Auckland, Mr Justice O’Regan asked Mr Croskery to make a statement when the court sat there.