FIRST DOMINION AWARD

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18459, 24 July 1923, Page 9

FIRST DOMINION AWARD

CARPENTERS AND JOINERS. WAGES AND HOURS FIXED. UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES. . The first Dominion award made by the Arbitration Court under, the legislation of 1922, was filed with the Clerk of Awards at Wellington . yesterday, : this being the decision of the Court in the dispute between the New Zealand Amalgamated Society of .? Carpenters and Joiners and the ' employers, 2500 of whom are parties to the award. A copy of the document- was released in Auckland, where the Court, is. now sitting, simultaneously with its , filing' in Wellington, the ce»tre of the combined district. . Under the new award . the hours have been fixed at 44' a week —eight hours on five days and four hours on Saturday. ' The minimum wage for carpenters i and joiners and joiners' machinists . has . been fixed at 2s an hour for outside workers, and 2s ijd for factory v-orkws. On all outside jobs the worker responsible fos carrying out the work who gives instructions to other workers, shall be paid not'less than Is a day in addition. The award is to take effect from August 6, 1923, and to remain in operation until August 6, 1925 A long memorandum was attached to the award, Mr. W. Scott, the employers' representative •on the Court, dissenting from the wages fixed by the award. .-.■■■■ • Metnorasdum of the Court. In . the memorandum ..the Court stated that- the award replaced a number of separate local awards, and applied to every ■ district in New Zealand, except Marlborough and Westland, where there are no unions affiliated to the society. i f . • The rate of overtime had been fixed in accordance' with ; the general practice, of the Courttime and a-half for the first four hours, and double time thereafter. As regards suburban work, it was possible that in some districts a variation in details might bo desirable, and the Court reserved power to make such variations; but the underlying principle would pot be departed from. The country work clause, with the exception of the amount, of boarding allowance, was agreed' to in the Conciliation Council, but it -was admitted at the shearing j that . two clauses required amendment, , and the , Court had rtone this to make the - intention clear. The rate of allowance in the old awards varied from 3s 4d to 5s a day, but the higher rate. was fixed at. a time when accommodation was more expensive and difficult to, obtain The Court had now fixed the rate at 4s 2d a day.

Preference to Small Unions. With regard to the preference, clause th 6 Court said there was, - in' the case of Canterbury, a dispute over two small unions not affiliated to the., society. The society urged the abolition of- preference to these unions on the grounds that they were unnecessary, and did not bear their share of the expense and work involved in obtaining the award. The small unions were duly registered under the Act, and although the causes of their coming into existence might now have disappeared, their existence was a, fact, and they were entitled to 1 consideration. Their rules, however, appeared, to be in conflict with the conditions upon • which • the Court granted preference, and preference ; had accordingly , been withheld until their rules were amended. " ' \ , A clause in the general conditions, relating. to' the . prohibition .of piece-work, was agreed on in conciliaton council, but the Court, had reserved power to amend the clause, for it appeared to it that undue restrictions on piece-work should . riot be encouraged. While, the Court recognised that at one time, circumstances existed which justified the opposition of the unions to' piece-work, the machinery of the •. Court • was now ample to provide for piece-work being ■ performed under fair and reasonable" conditions. ; The introduction of. piece-work with proper, safeguards, in .the. building /trade, ought, : . : .m- : -/.the; opinion of , the Court, to .be of ]benefit to the worker, the ; employer, and ; the purchaser alike. - , 1 ' ■In regard .to applications for amendment to the award.; it would be necessary to file .the':, requisite documents with the Clerk of Awards at Wellington. but the Court' would deal- with ~ the : applications, if the parties desired, in the' districts j from which they emanated.