SHOPS AND OFFICES

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1748, 6 September 1905, Page 43

SHOPS AND OFFICES

THEIR HOURS. THE AMENDED BIEL. A review of the present position of the. Shops and Offices Amendment Bill, which has been, so severely handled during its passage through committee in the House, will no doubt be interesting. The law as it stands at present provides that shop assistants shall not be employed more than fifty-two hours in any one week, but it does not make any provision as to when these hours shall begin and end on each day. In addition, clause 3 (now repealed) provides that all shops in the four combined districts shall close at 6 o’clock on ordinary nights and 9 o’clock on the one late night of the week. The amending bill ,in its present state —and this is a point concerning which there appears to be a great deal of misconception—says absolutely nothing regarding the compulsory early closing of shops. All that the bill as it now stands provides is that shop assistants shall not work more than fifty-two hours in any one week, and that, with the exception of the trades mentioned in the first and second schedules, they shall cease work at 6 o’clock on ordinary nights and 11 o’clock on the late night. There is nothing to prevent the shop itself being kept open after the assistants leave. In the case of those mentioned in the first schedule (viz., bakers, booksellers, butchers, chemists, dairy produce sellers, florists, hairdressers, and tobacconists), the assistants must leave work not later than 8 o’clock on four nights and 11 o’clock* on one night of the week. With regard to those enumerated in the second schedule (viz., confectioners, fishmongers, fruiterers,

pork butchers, and refreshment-keep-ers), the employees must leave work at 10 o’clock on four nights and 11 o’clock on one late night. These provisions, however, are subject to clause 21 of the existing act, which enables a three-fifths majority in any trade to decide the hour for closing, and in such case they may keep their employees at work until the hour so fixed for closing, notwithstanding the provisions just stated. The probable effect of this (should the bill be left, in its present state) would be that all trades would immediately bring themselves under clause 21 of the act, in order that they may keep their assistants later than 6 o’clock.

The advocates of early closing contend that it would be most unfair that shops employing labour should be compelled to close at 6 (which they would virtually have to do if their assistants left at that time) whilst shops employing no, or perhaps only one. assistant, would be able to keep open till a later hour. The Premier, it is understood, will move to re-oomm.it the bill with the view of altering this provision in the direction of making it illegal to keep assistants after 6 o’clock. It is understood, however, that the Labour members will oppose the recommittal, as they hold it is better that a large proportion of shops should have to close at 6 o’clock in consequence of their employees leaving at that hour, than that the whole should keep open until late at night, as they would be able to do under the Premier’s proposals. They consider that the repealed clause 3, with the necessary exemptions, is the best provision that can be made. With regard to offices, the bill does not differ much from the present law, with the exception that there shall be no overtime in certain offices, including merchants’ and newspaper offices, warehouses. and other offices.

When the bill reaches the Legislative Council an attempt will probably be made to introduce a clause similar to that proposed in the House last week by Mr Arnold (chairman of the Labour Bills Committee) and defeated. The effect of this would be to provide for 6 o’clock closing on four nights of the week and 9 o’clock closing on the late night, with special provision for Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, and the night before Easter, and with two exemption schedules, one providing for 8 instead of 6 o’clock closing, in the case of chemists, tobacconists, and others, and the other leaving fruiterers and kindred trades entirely exempt. In such case, it is anticipated that there may again be a disagreement between the two Houses, and. recourse to a conference, as w r as the case last year.