HAIRDRESSING SALOONS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 15 April 1939, Page 7

HAIRDRESSING SALOONS

3 WELLINGTON AWARD IgftlED NO ALTERATION IN SATURDAY CLOSING HOURS An award covering working conditions in haidressing saloons in the Wellington industrial district was issued to-day by Mr J. A. Gilmour, S.M., acting as a duly appointed delegate of the Court of Arbitration. The award mainly follows recommendations arrived at in conciliation council, but j one of the matters argued before the j Magistrate was closing hours on Saturr days. These remain unaltered. \ A recommendation was made to the j Court that all hairdressing saloons should close on Saturday afternoons. _ but objection was made to this pro- . posal. In a memorandum to the award. r Mr Gilmour upholds the objection, j He states: “Dealing with the question i of fi xing closing hours so as to compel . observance of the half-holiday on the actual day appointed as the statutory half-holiday in each district it is clear, in my opinion, that the Court has no jurisdiction to fix such closing hours as will restrict the statutory right of an occupier to elect which working day in the week he will observe as the statutory closing day.” At the hearing, objection was also made to the proposal that the closing hour on four nights of the week should be 6 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. “As to the hours of closing. I have come to the conclusion, after carefully considering the whole of the evidence tendered, that the evidence of the objectors falls short of establishing that the introduction of the closing houfcs agreed on in conciliation council would have any lasting adverse effect on the businesses of affected occupiers or would result in undue inconvenience to the public.” said Mr Gilmour. “Similar closing hours have been operating satisfactorily for some time in the combined district of Auckland, and there appears to be no valid reason for refusing to apply the restricted hours to the combined district of Wellington and to the other districts affected by the award. The closing hours have accordingly been fixed at 6 p.m. on four days of the week, at 9 p.m. on one day of the week, and ata 12 noon on the day observed as the statutory half-holiday.” PROVISIONS OF AWARD The award provides for a 44-hour week to be worked between 8 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. on four days of the weak; 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. on one day: and 8 am. and noon on the statutory halfholiday. The hours of work are not to apply to managers. The minimum journeymen’s wage is £5 7s 6d weekly within a 25-miJe radius of the Wellington G.P.O. and £5 5s outside the radius. Workers employed as managers are to be paid £6 10s weekly. Casual workers are to be paid 3s an hour with a minimum of three hours’ work.

A rew provision makes it compul-* sory for all hairdressing saloons to be closed on the following public hclidaj’s:- -Christmas Day. Boxing Day. New Year's Day and the day following the day on which New Year's Day is observed. Good Friday. Easter Monday. Sovereign’s Birthday, Labour Day. and Anniversary Day. In the Hawkes Bay district, with the exception of Hastings (which is to observe the anniversary day of Wellington) anniversay day is to be replaced by ahow day.

The award is deemed to have come into force as from 13th February, 1939. in relation to wages, and as far as other conditions are concerned it is to operate from Ist May. It is to expire on 13lh February, 1940.