Theatrical Employees Seek Dominion Award

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 63, 16 March 1938, Page 6

Theatrical Employees Seek Dominion Award

AGREEMENT ON SOME POINTS Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, Last Night. An application for a Dominion award by the New Zealand Theatrical and Places of Amusement Employees’ Industrial Union of Workers was heard in Conciliation Council at Wellington to-day. Agreement was reached on hours of work, employers being empowered to fix the weekly hours for their respective employees according to the exigencies of the particular theatre. The hours were not to exceed 36 hours so far as ticket-takers, door-ke«pers, ushers and, other theatre attendants (other than caretakers and cleaners) were concerned and in the case of ticket-sellers 32 hours a week. Not more than six hours were to be worked in any one day without overtime being paid. No worker was to be called on to work for less than two hours in connection with any one performance. Where theatres were not open each day and night in the week, Monday to Saturday inclusive, tne employer might elect to employ -workers as performance workers. No agreement was arrived at in the matter of payment for these. It was agreed that overtime be at time and a-haif for the first three hours, thereafter double rates, each day to stand by itself. For male theatre attendants in picture theatres a wage of £4 was agreed to, but the wages for youths and females were referred to tho Arbitration Court. It was agreed that other workers could be employed as performance workers, but there was no agreement as to payment. This, too, was referred to the Court.

For workers engaged in vaudeville, concert, operatic, dramatic, boxing and wrestling entertainments and any class of performance not elsewnere covered, it was agreed that the hours (other than for caretakers and cleaners) should not exceed the following:—Ticket sellers, 24 hours nightly and two hours at matinees; other attendants from 6.45 p.m. to the clearing of the house and covering of seats, provided that 6.45 should be read as 6.30 p.m. in tJie ease of theatres where the performance commenced earlier than 8 p.m. Provisions relating to the maximum hours of work per performance and the time from which matinees should be deemed to begin and finish were referred to the Court.

Definitions of caretakers and cleaners were agreed upon. Subject to certain conditions which were not discussed, it was agreed that the ordinary hours for these employees should be a 40-hour week to be worked to suit the exigencies of the particular establishment. A proviso to cover the minimum period for which these workers might be called on was not agreed to. A number of machinery clauses were agreed to, and the council adjourned till April 11.