HOSPITAL STAFFS

Evening Star, Issue 25618, 19 October 1945, Page 8

HOSPITAL STAFFS

INCREASES FOR DOMESTIC WORKERS

ARBITRATION COURT AWARD Increases in wages are provided in the New Zealand hospital domestic workers’ award, which lias been issued by the Arbitration Court. The award, which wiH remain in operation untii October 15, 1946, embodies the terms of settlement arrived at in the Conciliation Council, and the increases -in wages are made retrospective to April 1 last. The new wages are subject to the court’s two general orders under the Rates of Wages Emergency Regulations. ' “

The existing minimum wage rates for the various classes of workers covered by the award have been increased by approximately 12s 3d a week in the case of males and by 10s 6d a week in the case of females.

Some of the new weekly wage rates are as follows:—Adult male "workers employed as porters, orderlies, kitchenmen, store porters, cleaners, nightwatchmen, patrolmen, and other male domestics, £5 4s 6d for the first year’s service, and £5 9s 3d after one year’s service; kitchenmaids, £3 14s” 3d; wardsmaids, housemaids, waitresses’ pantrymaids, laundresses, seamstresses, linenmaids, telephone maids, female cleaners, and other female domestics, £3 8s Id.

.Junior female domestics may be' employed, except on kitchen, laundry, or seamstresses’ work, at £3 Is 10d a week if under 19 years of age, and at £3 8s Id a week if over 19 years of age. Junior male, domestics may be employed, except on kitchen work, at the following weekly rates:—lf under 20 years of age, £3 19s Id; if over 20, but under 21 years of age, £4 Ss 7d; if over 21 years of age with less than a year’s service, £5 14s 6d; if over 21 vears of age with a year’s service, £5 9s 3d. The new wage rates payable under the award are to be paid for a 40-hour week, and where additional hours per week are worked, as provided for under the hours of work clause, such additional hours shall be paid for at ordinary rates in addition to the weekly wage. Provision is made, however, whereby the employer may reduce the weekly working hours to 40, in which case he is to notify the nearest inspector of awards of the group or department to which the reduction applies. Staffs working a 40-hour week are entitled to overtime pay for nil time worked in excess of 40 hours. Xon-resident workers who are employed on broken shifts shall be paid 2s 6d above the ordinary weekly wages. Such shifts are to be completed within a spread of 12 hours, computed from starting to finishing time, including meal hours.

Provision is made for workers to receive an annual holiday of 23 consecutive days, and workers employed continuously upon night work are entitled to take their holidays in two periods of not less than one week at six-monthly intervals.