ARBITRATION COURT

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 July 1936, Page 12

ARBITRATION COURT

hours qf work hearings bakery employees [PEB PRESS ASSOCIATION.] WELLINGTON, July 22. The Arbitration Court has fixed the hours of work for bakers pastry cooks and their labourers at 44 pci The judgment of the Court was delivered by Mr Justice Page. It stales that ono application was made oi behalf of 639 factory occupiers for an extension to 44 of the weekly hours of work. The price payable by the baker for flour, and the puce chargeable for bread, had been fixed by the Minister of Industries and Commerce, under the Board of Trade Act From the evidence it was clear •that, unless the margin between these two prices were increased, it would bo imprasticable for the industry to be carried on efficiently on the 40hour week. ‘‘There are other considerations, the judgment continues, “apart from the question of cost. Bread-making is carried out on six days of the ■week, and to compress into the limits of the five-day week the baking of bread sufficient to meet the needs of the public is unworkable. Nor is it piacticable to reduce the number of hours per day required to complete the process of turning out a batch of bread. The Court lias closely examined the estimates of time necessary to cany out the processes, and has come to the conclusion .that to spread a working week of 40 hours over six working days would give insufficient time each day to complete the process.”

The order made by the Court for the 44-hour week includes provision for work on Saturday, and it will come into force on September 1, and will continue until September 1, 1937. Application was heard to-day from companies engaged in seed cleaning aind dressing for an extension of working hours to 44, with a five-hour period of continuous work between meals. It. is claimed that the work was seasonal, and could not be spread ever the whole year. Decision was reserved.

At th© instance of the the application for an extension of the 40-hour week in -the brick kiln cases was withdrawn in the Arbitration Court, it being stated that the niattei- was being considered by the brickmakers throughout New Zealand.

On behalf of the workers, it was asked if any of the applications could be proceeded with, but the Judge intimated that when an application was withdrawn, a new one was required before the case could be re-opened.

Applications on behalf of the clerical workers of the Auckland Gas Company and the cleaners, caretakers and liftmen, were adjourned to Auckland, and an adjournment to Christchurch was made in the case of the clerical workers in the newspaper offices in Canterbury. A similar adjournment was made in the case of the clerical workers in laundry depots in Christchurch.

The New Zealand Storemen and Packers’ Federation applied to the Court to-day for an amendment to that part of their award relative to the hours of work.

The application was opposed by wholesale importing firms, fruit and produce manufacturers, for whom it was stated that it was essential for wholesale establishments to observe the same hours as retail ones. The busiest period for storemen and packers was Saturday morning. For the workers, it was pointed out that the largest employers of store labour in the Dominion, Woolworths, had no objection to the 40houi’ week.

The Court reserved its decision.

AUCKLAND MILK

WELLINGTON, July 22

'rhe margin between the price paid to the farmer producers for milk, and the price charged to the Auckland public, will have to be increased before the 40-hour week can be ordered, according to an interim judgment by Mr Justice Page. In the opinion of the Arbitration Court, the industry of milk pasteurising and the distribution could be carried on efficiently on the 40-hour week so far as the mechanical operations are concerned, both as to the depot workers and roundsmen; but such a reduction of hours must entail an employment of additional labour, with a consequent increase in working costs. The Court considered the present margin between the price payable to the farmers for milk in bulk and the price chargeable to the public on distribution is insufficient to enable the employers to carry on efficiently on the 40-hour week. The case was adjourned until August 24 to enable the Auckland Milk Council and others interested to go into the question of prices. The Coiyt decided that the milk pasteurising depots were not dairy factories, but that a separator room was a creamery within the meaning o. the Act.

DECISIONS TO DATE.

WELLINGTON, July 22.

Decisions regarding the hours of work have been given by the Arbitration Court in the following cases since it commenced its special sittings to bear applications for amendments to awards and for extensions of the 40hour week:— 40-11 OUR WEEK. Footwear manufacturers. Sawmilling industry. Box-making factories. Timber yards. Woollen mills. Hosiery and knitting factories. Paper mills. Ammunition manufacturers. Biscuit and confectionery (by agreement).

Manufacturers of men’s and boys’ clothing. Shirt, white, and sijk industry. Dressmaking and millinery industry. Range-making industry. Soap manufacturers. Chemical manure factories (by agreement). Jewellery manufacturers.

Neckwear manufacturers. Coach builders. Fur garment manufacturers. Furniture manufacturers, including upholsterers, polishers, pictureframe makers, and wire mattress makers.

FORTY-FOUR HOUR WEEK. Pottery manufacturers. Garage attendants. 11 IN SUMMER; 36 IN WINTER. Aerated water manufacturers. 44 IN SUMMER; 40 IN WINTER. Fruit and vegetable preserving and canning and jam-making. CHRISTCHURCH RETAILERS. CHRISTCHURCH, July 22. Christchurch retailers, at a widelyattended general meeting to-day, condemned the imposition of the compulsory inci eases in wages, and also condemned shorter hours as being oppressive. 7he meeting, which comprised practically all employing parlies to the Shop Assistants’ Award, passed a resolution expressing this criticism, and

suggesting that the effect of the new industrial conditions should be observed for a period before any compulsory shortening of the shopping hours is imposed. In tentative schemes of hours they have considered so as to comply with the legislation the employers have been working on a basis of a 44-hour week as was laid down in the Shops and Offices Act. Most shops now work 16 hours. To make the necessary reduction, the elimination of either a late night on Friday, or of Saturday morning hours, has been considered, but, so tar, it has not been found possible to decide which of the two could best be spared. Some of the employers favour a change in the morning opening hours, together with a possible shortening of Friday late night. An entirely different, and, from the employers’ point of view, a mere diflicull situation will be created if the employees succeed in their application to the Arbitration Court to have the 4d-hou,r week applied to the retail shops.