PAY DURING HOLIDAYS

Greymouth Evening Star, 4 June 1938, Page 7

PAY DURING HOLIDAYS

BRITISH GOVT’S BILL. [BRITISH OFFICIAL WIRELESS.] RUGBY, June 2. The Government has now considered the report of the committee set up to consider holidays with pay, and the Minister for Labour (Mr. Ernest Brown) made a statement in the House of Commons welcoming the recommendations to which, he said, the Government desired to see effect given to the fullest practicable extent. A bill empowering trade boards and agricultural wages committees to provide for holidays with pay, and enabling the machinery of the Ministry of Labour to be used, if desired, in the administration of holiday schemes, would be introduced. If there was a general desire to facilitate its passage as a non-contentious measure, he hoped to be able to pass it into law during the present session. Mr. Brown mentioned that he did not think it would be opportune to include in the bill any proposal for dealing special!}' with domestic servants, as had been recommended by the committee. The Government attached special importance to the recommendations for encouraging voluntary agreements for holidays with pay, and for stimulating the co-ordi-nation of industrial, educational, transport, lodging, and other holiday arrangements, which was essential if the workers were to be enabled to take proper advantage of their holidays. These recommendations did not require legislation. The co-ordination of holiday arrangements concerned a number of different departments, and a standing inter-departmental committee was being set up to deal with that aspect. The committee’s recommendations for fixing the Easter holiday would be borne in mind, but he was advised that there was no immediate prospect of being able to give effect to them.