DISTINCT UNION WISHED

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 14 November 1934, Page 4

DISTINCT UNION WISHED

CHAIN STORE MANAGERS CASE ON APPEAL * (By Telegraph—Press Association) CHRISTCHURCH, 13th November. An appeal against the refusal of the Registrar of Industrial Unions to register the Canterbury Chain Store Grocery Managers’ Guild as a union was heard in the Arbitration Court to-day. Mr R. A. Young, who represented the guild, said that early this year 45 grocery store managers formed a guild and applied for registration as an industrial union, but their application had been refused. He submitted that the section of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act under which the application was dismissed was intended to prevent the needless multiplicity of industrial unions. It did not, however, mean that there should not be moro than one union. At present the only union in the trade >vas the Grocery Assistants’ Union, to which the managers would have to belong if they wished to become members of a union. ■Mr Young said that the chain-storo system had created a new class of employee, the managers of the stores, and they could not properly lie termed grocers’ assistants. The power of the managers was almost absolute and while they were workers they were also employers. The relation of the manager to his assistant was that of master and servant. Mr A. W. Croskerv, secretary of th-> Shop Assistants' Federation, opposed the application. Tim case is proceeding.