NEW TRADE UNION FORMED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16097, 10 December 1915, Page 5

NEW TRADE UNION FORMED

— -«. MEAT PRESERVER WORKERS. < FIXING TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT. Hitherto the -workers in the meat- _. preserving industry in the Auckland dis- 2 tiict have had their terms of employment ; regulated by the award of the Arbitration ] Court, which relates to the butchers' < trade. As in other trades, however, the t unionist bodies are multiplying by fission- i The current award reached its full term ! ( on October 23 last. Since then, the meat- ] preserving employees have formed them- - selves into a new organisation, designated ' < the Auckland Butchers' Meat Preservers j : and Bacon-curers' Industrial Union of! ; Workers, and have applied to the Lab- | j our Department for a separate award, j I The proposed new conditions are contested | by the employers, and a Conciliation | Council accordingly sat yesterday in the . endeavour to reconcile the points of ; difference. Mr. T. Harle Giles presided, < ( as conciliation commissioner, and the'' other members of the council were :Em- '. ployers' assessors, Messrs. G. T. Lane. A. [ , Rowland, and S. Wing; assessors for the I, union, Messrs. C. Baker and W. W. Sill. ; Mr. C. Grosvenor appeared as representaI tive of the employers, and Mr. Sill, I secretary of the union, also acted as its j i advocate. The employers cited as re- ! j spondents were the Auckland Meat ComI pa-ny, Messrs. Fraser and Richardson! j (Whangarei), R. and W. Hellaby, Ltd.. ! I the Whanparei Freezing Company, and j j the Westfield Freezing Company. I l Hoars and Wages Clauses. ] j In its application the union proposed ; that the hours of work shall be those pro- ' ivided for in the Butchers' Award, viz., 46 i per week—five days from 7.30 am. to 1 5 p.m., with 45 minutes for dinner, and, ,on Saturday from 7.50 to 11.45; overtime Ito be counted as rate and a-half. To! this the employers responded with a proposal that the weekly 48 hours be appor- ' tioned differentlyon five days a week, : between 7.30 a.m. and six o'clock, not more I than 8$ hours to be worked on any one j day, and on Saturday 4i hours, between I 7.50 a.m. and 1 p.m. * I In regard to wages, the union asked that head preservers be paid £4 per' : week, boners Is 9d an hour, tinsmiths Is 1 6d an hour, and other employees Is 4d : jan hour. The employers stood out for' practically the rates already currenthead preserv*iy>£3 10s a week, tinsmiths Is ljd ;an hour, other employees Is QJd. As to lover-time the union proposed rate and ahalf, and the employers adhered to the , current rate, time and a-quarter for the first four hours, and time and a-half thereafter. For juvenile labour, the union submitted the following scalerboys under 16 £1 a week; 16 to 17, £1 ss; 17 to 18 £1 10s; 18 to 19, £1 15s; 19 to 21 £2; the proportion of boys to men not to exceed one to three. The employers made a counter-offer, viz., 15s per week for boys under 16, £1 from 16 to 17, £1 5s from 17 to 18, and £1 10s from 18 to 21. Holidays and Extra Time. Three extra holidays in the year January 2. Anniversary Day, and Boxing Day— sought by the union, with an allowance of double time for work on Christmas Day and Good Friday, and time and a-balf on any other holiday. The employers resisted the proposed new holidays, and offered double rates on Sundays, Christmas Day, and Good Friday time and a-quarter on other holidays. Preference to unionists was included in the application, and opposed by the employers, and there was agreement a* to the usual provision for under-rate workers. The employers demanded that whatever terms might be agreed upon should be' 1 fixed for three years, and that the award should extend to the whole northern in-' [ dustrial district, instead of being limited to a 15-mile radius from Auckland. The whole of yesterday's sitting of the council was devoted to discussion of the dispute. Several important points were settled by agreement, and the consideration of the remainder will be continued to-day.