STATUS IF STOREMEN

New Zealand Times, Volume L, Issue 11705, 18 December 1923, Page 3

STATUS IF STOREMEN

RAISED BY ARBITRATION COURT. ONE MEMBER DISSENTS. The Court of Arbitration has delivered its decision with reference to the Wellington Storemen’s and Packers’ Award. The district covered under its provisions is within a radius of 25 miles. In an attached memorandum Mr Justice Frazer said the principal matter referred to the court was that of wages. “The court has in the past regarded these workers as being practically on the same level as general labourers,” said His Honour. ‘‘We have now come to the conclusion that we are justified in placing them on a somewhat higher level in view of the nature of the. work performed by the average storeman and packer, and the degree of responsibility with which he is. invested.’’ It had been urged by the union’s representatives, said the judge, that storemen and packers in "wholesale establishments should be placed on the same level as storemen in the wool, grain, and hide stores, in view of the Work, though lighter, entailing greater care and responsibility. “We have decided, after considering the evidence adduced, that this is the proper view, and we have provided' accordingly,” he said. “Mr Scott (the employers’ representative) desires to have it placed on record that he does not concur in the opinion of the majority of the court.” The award will come into force on December 24th, and will remain in force until December of 1925.