DAIRY FACTORIES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 113, 9 April 1930, Page 3

DAIRY FACTORIES.

NEW AWARD. Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, April 8. Few departures from the old award were made by the Arbitration- 1 Court in the award issued to-day governing conditions in butter and cheese factories and creameries. Cortain provisions were agreed to in the Conciliation Council, and the Court regarded the present time as inopportune for making changes which would have the effect of increasing costs of production. In a memorandum to the award Mr Justice Frazer said that the principal matter in dispute was hours of work. The Court recognised that the hours of work ‘during the busy season were longer than those worked in other industries and it recognised also that they were spread over a seven-days’ week. Though those disadvantages were to some extent compensated for by the provision of considerably shorter hours during the slack season, and by the granting of holiday leave on full pay, the Court would prefer, if it could see its way to do so, to spread the daily hours more evenly over the whole season and to allow a day off per week to each worker. In the smaller factories a real difficulty was involved in arranging for a weekly day off during tho busy season, and in many of the larger factories there would be an increase in costs. In view of the present condition of tho dairy produce market, the Court realised that the present. time was inopportune for making any. material alteration in the conditions under which tho factories were working. It had, however, decided to fix a Bhort term for the currency of the present award (to February 28,1931), and hoped that, if the market improved before another award was applied for, the parties would concentrate their efforts on the framing of a system of working which would enable, a six-days’ week to be worked. It was recognised, of course, that the factoriest must, in most Cases, work on seven days’ a week, but-it ought to be possible to arrange for mutual concessions that would enable the workers to have a day off per week, without unduly increasing the costs of production. A majority of the Court Hivl amended the classification of workers in the smaller cheese factories tp/conform to 1 the classification existing in the Northern and Otago and Southland districts. Mr Schmitt desired to record a dissent in that matter. With that one exception the award was concurred in by all the members of the Court.