SHORTER WEEK

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22356, 29 February 1936, Page 14

SHORTER WEEK

L MINISTER'S PLANS RIGHT OF EXEMPTION . QUESTION FOR THE COURT SHOPS AND OFFICES ACT t [by TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] CHRISTCHUKCH, Friday 7 "My idea is to lay down the prin--3 ciple of a 40-hour week in law and to f leave its application in each line of (. business to the good sense of the Arbitration Court," said the Minister of Labour, the Hon. H. T. Armstrong, to--3 day, when he was askpd if the introb dnotion of a shorter working week to b the retail trade would mean the abolij tion of late shopping night. Mr. Armstrong said he realised that there were some lines of business in which the application of the shorter 1 week would offer more difficulties than 3 in most, but in these cases the cm- ' ployers would receive the right to state " their objections, and to seek exemption b from the Arbitration Court. To safe- " guard against after-hour trading by smaller shops, especially those in which ! a man employed the members of his ■ family, the Shops and Offices Act, as amended, would have to bo rigidly en- ' forced. The Minister mentioned there were ' several grievances about hours of trad- '■ ing. For instance, the tobacconists con--5 sidered that cigarettes should not be 1 sold outside the hours during which : they kept their own shops open. Not 1 long ago he had representations from ' booksellers, who complained about persons outside their trade selling papers, especially weekly papers, after the booksellers' hours. The law was being evaded to a certain extent, Mr. Armstrong added, but offences were difficult to detect, for it seemed to be a British trait not to act as an informer.