WORKING HOURS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22512, 1 September 1936, Page 10

WORKING HOURS

DECISIONS OF COURT MR. SAVAGE'S COMMENT BASED UPON EVIDENCE ADVICE TO EMPLOYEES [BY TELEGRAPH—SPECIAL REPORTER] WELLINGTON, Monday Industrial problems which have shown signs of arising during the last few weeks as a result of decisions of the Arbitration Court regarding the application of the 40-hour week were the subject of comment this evening bv tho Prime Minister. Although Mr. Sa vagp agreed that there was a measure of uneasiness among certain unions Whose claims for shorter hours had been rejected he said the Government's objective had been clearly stated and only impatience on the part of the workers could prevent it from being attained. It was suggested to Mr. Savage that some members of his own prfrty inside the House of Representatives were uneasy concerning the industrial situation and that a section of them held that precipitate action on the part of disappointed unions might seriously embarass tho Government. Promise Fully Kept The Prime Minister admitted that there might be some force in that i argument, but added that the whole position was being carefully watched by the Govern? jnt. " Our promise to tho workers during the election campaign was that we would restore their rights under the Arbitration Court," Mr. Savage said. " That promise has been more than fulfilled. Their rights have been extended over and above that. We said that we were going to give the workers the benefits of the machine age and as an initial step in that direction we laid down the principle of the application of the 40hour week in industries where it could be shown to be not impracticable. I can readily understand the desire of workers for shorter hours and I can understand the impatience of those who have recently seen their claims rejected. However, those workers, and the unions which act for them, must exercise a reasonable degree of patience. Rapid Changes Impossible

" It is impossible to change everything overnight and a general reduction of working hours to 40 a week would be manifestly unfair. The Government had to leave it to a competent tribunal to judge where the principle of the 40hour week should apply, but just because a particular industry has been told that it must work longer hours that does not mean that it is to be denied the benefits of the shorter working week for all time. The Government has declared its goal and it is determined that it will reach that goal as soon as possible." No Dictation to Court The Prime Minister said that there was no intention on the part of the Government to dictate to the Arbitration Court. To attempt to act in such a fashion with a judicial body would be absurd, especially as the Court wap able to view particular cases in the light of evidence. If there was any breakdown in the system of compulsory arbitration, or if the system as it existed at present tended to prevent the realisation of the Government's plans then it would be necessary to consider its replacement. However, it could not be said that compulsory arbitration had failed to date and organisations of workers would be well advised to show reasonable patience. , ' y The Capacity of Industry

"To put all our plans into force by a stroke of the pen might result in widespread disruption in industry," Mr. Savage added. " The people who would suffer most from that would be the workers themselves. We recognise that an essential factor in industrial changes must bo the capacity of industry generally to withstand those changes. But where adjustments cannot be made at once they can be made gradually and workers generally will be serving their own interests if they can retain their patience."