Men or Machines ?
DISPUTE OVER HOURS FOR DAIRY FACTORY WORK Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, Last Night. Declaring that it was just as well to have "got it off their chests," parties in the dairy workers’ dispute in Conciliation Council to-day had a lengthy discussion on conditions of employment in the industry and farming conditions generally. Workers sought a forty-hour week and the employers asked for an extension of the period under the old award in which longer hours, 52 a week, could be worked, and a corresponding reduction in the period of shorter hours, 38 a week. The quality of the cheese demanded by the London market could not be maintained by decreasing hours of work, contended the employers’ assessor. Air. J. Roberts, the agent for the workers, agreed that time should be allowed to keep up the quality, but no one could expect human beings to become machines fitting in with chemical processes. In making cheese they required to rest so as to maintain their efficiency. Quality could be maintained by employing more hands and making the hours of work less tedious.
The discussion led to no finality, but agreement was expressed that it would clear the way for more serious matters in the dispute.
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Bibliographic details
Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 114, 17 May 1939, Page 6
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206Men or Machines ? Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 114, 17 May 1939, Page 6
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