INDUSTRIAL LEGISLATION

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 June 1936, Page 5

INDUSTRIAL LEGISLATION

WAGE CUT RESTORATION. [PER press association.] WELLINGTON, June 18. A reply to doubts which have been expressed in certain quarters regarding the Government’s intentions to restore to the full all of tire wages and salary cuts as from July 1. was made by the Prime Minister to-day. “This legislation will be passed as soon as Parliament meets, and it will be retrospective to July 1,” he said. Mr. Savage recalled the statement which he made in the House earlier this month, when he said.that, during the recess it was the Government’s intention to prepare legislation for the restoration of the wage cuts in the public srvice the salary cuts, and pensions, as from the beginning of July. “I said that deliberately, so that the employers of labour would know what to expect, and would not have any reason for saying that we ‘sprang’ something on them,” he said, ft was the Government’s intention to restore all of the cuts made during the depression, he said, which, in effect, would bring the wage, salary and pensions level up to that of 1931. “We are pledged to do more than that,” said Mr. Savage. “We are pledged to make available to the people the benefit of every increase in production. If that is not done, there is no reason for the increasing of pro- < duction. H can only he done by in- ' creasing the incomes for the rank and , file of the people—increasing wages, < salaries and pensions. To say that we ( are going to restore the cuts, and to stop there, is not telling the whole r story.” ( Mr. Savage said that, had there been time, the wage restoration legislation ( would have been passed before Parlia- j ment adjourned. The Government r felt that it was bound to pass this r

legislation as soon as it could be done The next best thing was to make it re trospective. PUBLIC WORKS AGREEMENT. ■ WELLINGTON, June IS. Stating that the New Zealand Public Works Agreement was the best in the British Empire, if not the best in the world, Hon. R. Semple to-day made a vigorous reply to a series of resolutions carried by the Mbtuekh Branch of the New Zealand Workers’ Union in condemnation generally of the new agreement. One of those resolutions stated: “The new agreement is of no advantage to the workers, who were responsible for Mr. Semple’s elevation to Ministerial rank.” Mr. Semple said that he was astonished to read such an uncharitable, unreasonable and callous resolution. He could not believe that the rank and file men working on the job knew anything about it, though certainly they had been responsible for allowing it j. to go out in their name. However, he had the power to cancel all, or part, of the agreement as it applied to any locality, and he would give the Motueka Branch fourleen days in which to show reasons why its members should remain parties to the Public Works Agreement, which they had condemned and had attempted to ridicule: or whether they should go back to the old i rates that were operating before the agreement came into existence. Mr. Semple added that he was prepared to do all that he> could to help bona, fide workers to earn the maximum that they were capable of; but he was not going to tolerate unjustifiable abuse by irresponsible individuals, who seemed determined to embarrass and to obstruct the Government in its effort to play the game by honest men.

I DOMESTIC SERVANTS' UNION. WELLINGTON. June IS. “Since the clause dealing- with workers not employed for the pecuniary gain of the employers, had been deleted from the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Bill, provision will have to be made in some other Act to safeguard the conditions and wages of domestic servants and others eliminated,” said the Minister of Labour (Mr Armstrong), in tin interview, to-day. “I am not in a position to say what form this legislation will take, but I have been discussing it for some time with my colleagues, and with officers of the Department of Labour. Incidentally, there has never been anything in the law of the country to prevent domestic. servants from forming unions, but probably if they had formed unions and applied for awards, the fact that they were not employed for pecuniary gain would have ruled them out. For certain reasons, however, it has not been considered advisable in the meantime, to bring domestic servants and others into the scope of the legislation, but I can say that it would no doubt be to the decided advantage of domestic servants to form a union, and it would even be more helpful to the Government than otherwise for them to do so. We do not intend to discourage them in doing that.” HOURS OF WORKING. . WELLINGTON, June IS. What appears to be a misconception about the application of tire 40-hour week Io the workers in shoos and of-

] weeK io me workers in snops anti oit Hees/was cleared up to-day by the . Minister of Labour (Hon. IL T. Armstrong), who made it clear that al! of the workers registered under awards now have the right to apply for the 40-hour week, irrespective of any legislative stipulations. It was pointed out to Mr. Armstrong % that the general interpretation of Shops and Offices Amendment Act was that the workers under the Act, could not secure anything less than a 44hour week. Mr. Armstrong said that this was a . misconception. The workers registered under any award covered by the industrial conciliation and arbitration legislation ware entitled to apply, when making new award demands, for the 40-hour week. “When I stipulated a 44-hour week ' in the Shops and Offices Amendment Bill.” he said, “it was to make sure that there would be some statutory re- • duction. The working week, under existing legislation, for those workers was 44 hours. The Bill made sure that they would secure a reduction of four hours. There is no appeal beyond that figure. They cannot be made to work any longer hours by the Court, but. they can still apply for even shorter hours; and if they make new . demands, they can now apply to the Court for the forty-hour week.” QUESTION OF COMPETITION WELLINGTON, Jtine 19. “It is just plain silly,” was the coin--

in'ent made diy Mr. Mander, Secretary of the New Zealand Manufacturers’ Federation, referring to the attitude of Mr. A. C. Mitchell, at the International Labour Conference, on the 40-hour week. “Here,” said . Mr. Mander, “is New Zealand herself committed to the prini ciple of the 40-hour week, and the one . thing we most need is that other coun- . tries shall now come into line with ns. I making the 40-hour week universal, so 5 that we can. all compete on the same ; level. Yet in face of that we find a . New Zealand delegate is actually op- . posing the move, which would remove the competitive disadvantage at. which New Zealand industries have been placed.” INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE. [BY CABLE —PRESS ASSN’.—COPYRIGHT.] GENEVA. June IS. The International Labour Office rejected a motion to adopt the fortyhour week in the textiles trade this year. The question is being referred to various Governments, and may become the basis of a draft convention in 1937. New Zealand. France and America favoured an immediate convention. Australia. England and Japan opposed it. GAINS BY SEAMEN. (Received June 19. 11.30 a.m.) LONDON. June IS. The “Sun-Herald" says: As the result of the shipowners and National Union of Seamen agreement, the working hours of thousands of British seaitteh are being reduced from eighty-four > hours to fifty-six hours weekly, without reduction of pay. This applies to all deck workers, exclusive of navigating officers and wireless operators, on all ships exceeding 2500 tons. Negotiations are not completed regarding the engineroom, stokehold, and catering departments.