INDUSTRIAL AFFAIRS

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 May 1937, Page 9

INDUSTRIAL AFFAIRS

LONDON BUSMEN’S STRIKE LARGE NUMBER IDLE I [BY CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.] (Received May 1, 11 a.m.) LONDON, April 30. The busmen’s conference decided to strike at midnight in the central London area. Five thousand buses carrying five million passengers daily will be involved. Busmen’s representatives discussed the possibility of sympathetic action with representatives of the tramwaymen, trolley bus workers, and tube workers; It is understood that the Tubes are not involved at present, unless the buses are manned by volunteers ITALIAN WAGES RAISED. (Received May 1, 11 a.m.) ROME, April 30. Mussolini- . announced; that wages throughout'ltaly were being raised 10 to 12 per cent, on May 9, owing to the increased cost of living. “ANZAC” HOLIDAY WAGES. AUCKLAND, April 30. It is now clear '' that treble pay. will have to be paid for work performed last Monday by weekly workers in clothing factories, who are covered by awards which contain provision that when Anzac Day falls on a Sunday the holiday shall be observed on the Monday. This interpretation is subject l of course, to those employers who consider that the Arbitration Court has no power to. fix an, alternative holiday for a statutory Anzac Day being successfully prosecuted by the Department of Labour for failure to pay the holiday rates, prescribed in the award. Several employers, including a firm affected .by the dispute with its' employees on the question to-day paid double rates of pay for Monday, under the impression that their liability had thus been cleared. Under the new ruling of the department, however, the liability under the award 1 for wages will not be removed until they pay an extra day’s wages.

The Labour Department now rules that where factories' affected by the awards were open on Monday, weekly workers, in addition to a full week’s wages, must be .paid double rates for Monday. That ruling means, in effect, treble rates for Monday, so. that a woman worker employed for less than fivejflays a week, and entitled to £2 a week in the ordinary course, must this week be paid £2/16/-.