Settle Asylum Duty Dispute

Northern Advocate, 7 March 1947, Page 3

Settle Asylum Duty Dispute

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, This Day. : "Mental hospital nurses and attendants will resume call-back duty as from tomorrow morning,” said Mr L. G. Anderson, acting president of the Public Service Association, last night. ! "It has been agreed with the Prime i Minister (Mr Fraser) that the Solic.- j tor-General should be asked for a rui- | ing as to whether there was an agree- ! ment between the Public Service Com- j missioner and the association that overtime should be paitl from April 1, 1946, for time worked in excess of 40 ! hours per week. |

"The association has been assured ! that effect will be given to the Solid- | tor-General’s opinion if it favours the j association’s point of view, and for its j part the association agrees to abide by : the opinion should it prove adverse to j the association. j “It only remains for me,” Mr Ander; | son continued, “to express profound | admiration for the way in which mental hospital nurses, men and women, ha'm stood loyally by their group and their association, and at the same time meticulously honoured their original determination that the patients under their care should not suffer through the dispute.” ! The Prime Minister announced last night: “As the Public Service Com- i mission and the Public Service Asso- j ciation have taken diametrically op- i nosed views of the section of the re- j port of the Public Service Consultative Committee providing for payment of j penal rates for overtime, in respect of , the date from which payment should j commence, I nave decided to ask the Solicitor-General (Mr H. E. Evans), as 1 legal adviser of the Government, .'or ' his opinion in regard to (1) the meaning ol the text, (2) whether there is j in the document or in any circum- j stance appertaining to the document j an agreement, expressed or implied, : between the Public Service Commis- ‘ sioner and the Public Service Asso- . ciation that overtime rates should be | oaid from April 1. 1946. “If the Solicitor-General’s opinion is j to the effect that such an agreement i exists steps will be taken to implement j it. i "If the Solicitor-General's opinion is | to the contrary, the association has un- : dertaken to accept and abide by tlv.it j opinion."