Forty-Hour Week

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 158, 19 June 1936, Page 7

Forty-Hour Week

MINISTER EXPLAINS

Workers in Shops and Offices RIGHT TO APPLY By Telegraph—Press Association WELLINGTON, June 18 What appears to be a mtsconcep tlon about the application of the 40-hour week to workers ic shops and offices was cleared up to-day by the Minister of Labour, the Hou. H. T. Armstrong, who made it clear that all workers registered undr.awards had the right to anply for a 40-hour week irrespective of legls lative stipulations. it was pointed out to Mr Armstrong that the general interpretation of tn? Shops and Offices Amendment Act was that workers under that Act could not secure anything less that a 44-hcur week. Mr Armstrong said that this was a misconception. Workers registered under any award covered by Ihe Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration legis’ lation were entitled to apply when male ing their new award demands for a 40-hour week.

‘‘When I stipulated a 44-bour wool in the Shops and Offices Amondum it Bill it was to make sure that there would be some statutory reduction Tin working week under the existing legislation for those workers was 44 hours. The Bill made sure that they would secure a reduction of four hoars. There is uo appeal beyond that figuie. They eannot be made to work longer hours by the Court, but they can still apply for even shorter hours, anil if the®

make new demands they can now appii to the Court for a 40-hour week.” DOMESTIC SERVANTS Safeguard to be Made in Separate Act MINISTER’S VIEW By Telegraph—Press Association. WELLINGTON, June 18. biucc the clause dealing with workers not employed for the pecuniary gam of their employers had been deleted from the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Bill provision would 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, the Hon. 11. T. Armstrong, in an interview to-day.

"I am not in a position to say what form this legislation will take,” said the Minister, ‘‘but I have been discussing it for some time with my colleagues and with officers of the Department of Labour. Incidentally, there never has. 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 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. W’e do not intend to discourage them from doing that.’’

“NEW ERA DAWNING”

By Telegraph—Press Association. WANGANUI, June IS. Members of the. Wanganui Employers’ Association last night criticised the statement of Mr A. C. Mitchel], at the Labour Conference at Geneva that the 40-hour week proposals would ‘‘send God’s own country at top speed to the devil.” The opinion was expressed by members that instructions such as this by the employers’ executive at Wellington to their representative at Geneva would alienate what confidence still remained with provincial associations. Members expressed the view that a new era was dawning and that it behoved the Wellington executive rightly to interpret the new order into which New Zealand was entering.