OVERTIME IN INDUSTRY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 24000, 25 June 1941, Page 8

OVERTIME IN INDUSTRY

STATEMENT BY MINISTER [BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] WELLINGTON, Tuesday

"My attention has been drawn to a statement in the press mado by the Master Grocers' Association in Napier referring to a statement made by myself recently regarding the working of overtime in industry," said the Minister of Labour, the Hon. P. C. Webb, today.

"The association draws attention to the fact that the Shops and Offices Act prohibits the working of overtime in excess of 60 hours a year. The statement made by me was perfectly correct. At the time 1 was dealing with productive industries, and in such industries no restriction is placed on the amount of overtime, providing overtime rates are paid. It is true that overtime is limited in the Shops and Offices Act, but -it must also he remembered that the weekly hours for shop assistants are 44. Limitations are also prescribed by the Factories Act in respect to female workers, namely, overtime is not to exceed 120 hours a year.

"As I previously stated, the Emergency Council recommended to me the removal of this restriction in essential industries where extra hours were necessary. and this has been done. I might mention in passing that during the past vear over 1,300.000 hours' overtime were worked by females alone in factories in New Zealand, a large proportion of these in essential war industries."