CONCILIATION BOARD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11739, 22 August 1901, Page 3

CONCILIATION BOARD.

3] ..CARTERS'.. DISPUTE. I j The Conciliation Board resumed its hear-* fc ing of the carters' dispute yesterday fore- : . s noon, when "the case for the grocers' carters 7 was resumed. Tho Rev. A. H. Collins presided, and the union was represented by i Mr. R. B. Way. Mr. H. M. Smeeton ap- • pcared for the master grocers. . William Miller',- grocer, Karangahapo I Road, was called by Mr. Smeeton, and stated that when he was in Mr. Smeeton's employ the carters were not kept out late at night, and efforts were usually made to r get the men away as early as possible. The I proposal to debar carters from working in the shop was not practicable. Witness could "> not got his carters . back to . the stable at ; five p.m. because orders were frequently , received at that hour, requiring delivery that i night. If he refused to fulfil these orders • at once the result would be the loss of the cus- > tomers. A uniform carters' wage was noni sensical. A boy 17 years of age could learn 1 to do light delivery work as well as a man in six months' time. His wages should be I £1 a week, and his work to include store work. The proposals as a whole were totally unworkable,' and would be disastrous to the'small grocers. i By Mr. Way: If all grocers refused dolivery of goods late in the evening it would have the effect of preventing oustomers leaving one grocer to patronise another. Competition debarred small grocers from paying carters a wage of £2 5s a wtek. R. W. Gallaugher, "Victoria-street, grocer, corroborated tho last witness. He considered £1 17s 6d a. week a fair wage for a grocer's carter, and had no difficulty in obtaining hands at that rate. He had received 63 applications in reply to an advertisement for a carter at £1 15s a week, some of the applicants being married. The necessaries of life were now much cheaper than they were three years ago. By Mr. Way: He had not taken on a new carter from the 63 applicants. William Peet, Karangahapo Road, grocer, gave like evidence. He said 53* to 54 hours would be a fair week's work, exclusive of stable work. Delivery of goods after five o'clock was unavoidable, as the orders were frequently received at tho last moment prior to the cart leaving. The work of a grocer's carter was bo simple that it had been often adopted by men who had failed in other trades. By Mr. Way: A grocer's carter was worth from £1 16s to £1 18s a week. The racecourse was responsible for the debts which the employee incurred, and was unable to discharge, and the grocery trade suffered accordingly. James Preston, grocer, also gavo evidence. W. J. Hutchison, grocer, Khyber Pass Road, said ho did a deal of contract work, and in terms of agreement was obliged to deliver within an. hour from receipt of orders. Occasionally orders came in as late as nine p.m. on Saturdays. Ho had carefully considered the proposals of the union, and was of opinion that they were unworkable, and that it would be impracticable to keep the duties of a grocer's carter and assistant distinct. - Mr. Smeeton then summed up the case for the master grocers and said the proposals submitted evidenced a great lack of knowledge of the usages of the grocery business, which could only be accounted for on the assumption that the persons making tho proposals had never worked in tho trade. It had' been abundantly demonstrated by witnesses that one of the soundest methods of training a youth to a thorough knowledge of the business, and to give him a prospect of becoming a successful tradesman, was for him to commence i-t the bottom of the ladder and qualify by degrees for more important, and responsible work, and the proposal to keep the duties of a carter and a grocer's assistant distinct prohibited the possibility of a carter rising to any higher position. Referring to the question of hours of labour, the impossibility of controlling the time of arrival of orders or of gauging their volume beforehand was admitted on both sides. The first two weeks of the month were much busier, as a rule, than the latter end, and tho delivery of groceries in the wet weather took half as long again as on fine days, and the hours were thus unavoidably protracted. It was thought that 53 hours a week, exclusive of stable work, constituted a fair week's work, and that employers should be free to regulate tho working hours according to the requirements and circumstances of each business, always providing that an hour free of loading or stable work be allowed for dinner, and that the total week's hours were not exceeded. They were agreeable to pay time and a-quarter for overtime, but considered that owing to tho irregular character of the business it should be optional with the employer to give an equivalent in time off in lieu of paying overtime, such time off to bo given within one week. It was considered that the number of hours to constitute a week's work should be reckoned from the time of the arrival at the store in the morning to the time of return to the 6tablo at night. Ail stable work being looked upon as an equivalent. for half-holidays and general holidays. For small .businesses to pay a wage to carters of £2 5s would mean financial ruin. They considered that 37s 6d a week should be paid to grocers' carters fully engaged at carting, and that to meet tho requirements of small businesses youths 17 to 18 years of age should be paid 17s 6d per week; 18 to 20 years, 22s a week; 20 to 22 , years, 27s 6d a • week; over 22 years to receive full wage, unless not fully competent, by reason of old age or inexperience. Concluding, he said that employers wore more than willing to pay a good wage to a capable man where the volume of business was sufficient to employ an experienced man. ' The case for the nightsoil contractors was ; then opened. • ' George Wimmerger was the first witness '. called, and said that he was recently em- ' ployed as a carter by the Auckland Sanitary ! Comparer, and received £2 13s 6d a week. He ' began work at half-past nine p.m. and loft , off at half-past four to five a.m., and went ; to work again, collecting dust, at half-past ' seven a.m., and finished about eleven a.m., ', or half-an-liour later. He considered that ! £3 5s a week was a fair thing for tho work, ' and that as he did not receive holidays he , should receive double time on those holidays worked. By Mr. Taylor: Witness was discharged \ because, as he understood, he had asked for more pay. He worked on an average 51£ , hours a week. Hugh Flynn, Russell-street, Archhill, oar- ' ter, employed by the Auckland Sanitary '■ Company, said that he received £2 14s a • week. He did one night load, and carried on an average about 74 pans a night. By Mr. Alison: He did not consider that ' tho individual employee should express his • dissatisfaction to his employer, as it would i mean dismissal, but the course was to refer , it to the union. • ■ \ Members of tho Board said that they had '. always advocated that the workers should endeavour to meet tho employers before coming before the Board, but from the evidence, '. it was disclosed that this was useless, as workers who took it upon themselves to carry out the duty were dismissed from their employment, > • ' Mr. Way said that almost invariably when forming' a union it was fou/nd best to keep the facte from the employers, as organisation i would be thwarted. ' ■ i The Board at this stage adjourned till ten . o'clock this morning. 6 ; ■ ■iiillliimUHH I Mini iiiiiiihi ■■ 1