FREEZING INDUSTRY

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLI, Issue XLI, 16 September 1921, Page 5

FREEZING INDUSTRY

NEW AWARD W TANTED.

REFERRED TO THE COURT,

An application by the freezing companies ,n North Taranaki f.r a new award governing wages and conditions ot employment was considered at a sitting of the Conciliation Council held in iSew Plymouth yesterday. The employees were cited recently by the em ployers. who presented claims for a reversion of the rates of pay which obtained in 1919. This was opposed by th© union, who desire to retain the existing rates. Mr Newton (Wellington) Conciliation Commissioner, presided. The assessors were: For the companies, Messrs J. Quin (Eltham), ■ *B'/S ray. (New Plymouth), W. Maitland (Hastings), and A. S. Cookson (companies' agent. Dunedin). The folW^rt ior the unions. Mcissw' Turn'- E! h» (^'stchurcb), F. Niall (Wellington) F^ D. Ewing (Waitara),; with Mr W. E. Sill (union agent Auckland). - • The Commissioner remarked that it was practically a matter affected '■ by conditions in other parts of the iDomiiuon, and a meeting of the Council had already been heltf~"ln Wellington, but not very much had been agreed upon there.

Mr Cookson said that the employersassessors had discussed the matter iull^on the preceding night, and were ™l m i . P°sltlon t<>-go any further in wg?r 1° wa^ es.than they w«« at the Wellington sitting. The Commissioner said that a number of reasons had been given in Wellington, but he did not know whether they were logical. Mr Ellis said that the employers' assessors had said that the "cockies" were pushing them. . 5i r iS. v. J*i d ,tha* the * had intended that the farmers* interests were paramount, and that they (the companies) could not face the" music afterwards. He suggested that next time wages came up for consideration the assessors for the employers should all b ? farmers. The companies should not hide behind the farmers.

THE COMPANIES' VIEW

1 utting the position from the companies' point of view, Mr Cookson said that the freezing companies might quite well be able to pay the present wages for this season, but if they paid them and the .charges for freezing remained the same there might be no stock to fr-teze. Therefore the producers of the stock became a party in the dispute, and their interests had to be taken into consideration. Mr Gray said that there was no gainsaying that the' season had been probably the hardest they had ever had. Answering one of the employees' assessors, he said that he did mt blame wages wholly. Mr Ewing said that the cause of the trouble was the excessive land values. '

Mr Cookson suggested that they should leave industrial matters and get up an agitation to reduce the value of lanjL. Disciissing the matter further Mr Sill said that wages probably would have to go down, not because it was reasonable, but because the workers had not the economic strength that the landowners had.

Mr Ellis remarked that if the employers were going to "sit pat on their nffer ' no progress could be made, and it was no use discussing wages further.

Acreement was arrived at only on certain macHlnery clauses, the schedule relating to hours and wages being referred to the Arbitration Court. There was considerable discussion on the Question of "lie time" (the period for which wages are held in hand by the employer). The companies' representatives desired this to be increased from Iwo to three days, which was obieet. d to by the .union delegates. The employers thought that the extra allowance was necessary in order to give them an opportunity to make un the time-sheets. A round-table talk" did not result in any agreement., and the matter was also referred to the Arbitration Court.

STATEMENT OF CLAIMS. Included in the company's statement of the was the following schedule of hours, wages and conditions :

Hours of Work. Except_where otherwise specified, the ' hours oi work shall be between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. on five days of the week, and between 7 a.m. and. 12 noon on Satufuays. An ordinary day's work shall not exceed eight hours between 7 I a.m. an_. 5 "p.m. on five days of the week, and fQur hours between 7 a.m. j and 12 noon on Saturdays, including "smoTte oh." One hour shall be allow- j ed for lunch, except where-otherwise ( mutually arranged in any department _T any' works. ."_._"'.> , The hours of work for freezing cham-1 berharnds as hereinafter defined shall' be eTghti hours in any twenty-tour, reckoning from midnight to midnight, j Overtime rate shall be paid for all time worked nf' excess of eight " hours in j each twenty-four. Each day's time to stand by itself. . I The employers shall be at liberty, to start men before the hours mentioned, J to do essentially necessary preparing work for the day's operations, without overtime being paid for such work. In j .11 departments where not otherwise specified shifts may be worked to what-. ; over extent necessary to cope with-the work". ■.'••-.. Rates of Pay. Slaughtering—-All sheep not otherwise specified, £1 15s per 100 j 1 all lambs not otherwise specified^ £1 12s 6d per 100: show sheep, and lambs, £2 per 100; all unshorn sheep after November 30, .rate and a half; rams and genuine stags, other than ram lambs, : rate and a half; all cattle other than bulls and genuine stags, 2s 3d per head; bulls and genuine stags, 2s 9d per head (all bulls to be chopped); calves over 2501b5, cattle rates; if un-, skinned, 50 per cent, reduction; Pigs, up to 1201bs, Is Id per head; pigs,' I2olbs and over, Is 8d per head. The . ruling of the foreman butcher as to the . description of any class of stock shall be final. '

. Manure and tallow department, Is 9d . per hour. j Oleo department, Is 9d per hour. ! Freezing chamber hands, Is lid per ( hour. j Preserving department: Boners, Is 9_d per Hour; tinsmiths, Is lOJd; sec- . ond preserver, Is 10_-d;'all other work-] ers not specified, Is 9d. .'". : Slaughterhouse and cooling room as-' sistants and runners off, Is 9d . per hour. Casing department: Machine feed ers, 2s 2d per hour; classers, scrapers, etc., 2s Id per hour; hung hands,; salters and learners ,1s lOd; boys, from ] £1 7s to £1 16s per week. Piecework Rates. ] Strippers, £1 5s per 1000; bung hands (short bungs), £1 2s 6d' per 1000; buns; hands (long bungs) £1 7s 6d per 1000. i Employment of Youths. I Boys and youths up to the age of 20 years may be employed in the proportion of one boy or youth to every three

men employed in each department. (b*fc room excepted), at wageß ranging from *I as to £2 15s according to age. Overtime.

Except where otherwise provided, all time worked i n excess or the hour* mentioned in any one day shall be considered overtime, and shall be paid for at the rate of time and a quarter -or the first two hours and time and a hair thereaiter.

On Saturday afternoon time and » quarter shall be paid tor all time work«*obe_ween 12 iloon. and 1 p.m. "'" J-toubie rates shall Be paid for ail woiTt done on Christmas Day, Good I'riday and on Sundays. Hat? an* a half shall be paid for all work dona on eacn of the following days- New Years Day Easter Saturday, Easter Monday, Labour Day. Birthday tf reigning Sovereign, an<_ Boxing Day; also on one other holiday to b?mut«-J^-ranged at the beginning of tie

I-VL^a* *--*i.J or Pieceworkers shall be-paid for at the rate.of 2s per hour, and if no work is available they shall be paid for •JBrnaram of two hours. Waiting H*e for other workers shall be paid, for at their ordinary rate per hour, and iTho work is available they shall be> paid for a minimum of two

The- employer may employ learners on the slaughtering board in such Proportion to the slaughtermen that them shall not be more than one learner to every three t slaughtermen or fraction of three slaughtermen. In cases where the union on request fail to supply the number of competent slaughtermen required the employer to have the right to' .make up the number by employing additional learners. Learners on the beef or mutton boards shall be paid at the minimum rate of Is 9d per hour antill they are capable, at the discretion pi the foreman, of earning an equivalent amount at the piecework rates specified..

The counter proposals were those drawn up by the New Zealand Freezing "Works and Related Trades Industrial Association, and set out a scale of wages which, it was stated, were the same as is now being paid/ Irf .regard to overtime, they asked for time and a half for the first three hours and double time afterwards. Their schedule ot holidays showed an increase of two* on those mentioned in the citation, and the time asked for "smoke-oh" was a quarter of an hour, against ten minutes suggested by the companies. ihe unions arso asked that the proportion of learners should not be more than one to every six slaughtermen.—. Herald.