AWARDS AND WAGES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18675, 3 October 1922, Page 2

AWARDS AND WAGES

BAKERS AND PASTRYCOOKS. AWARD ISSUED. (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, October 2. The Arbitration, Court to-day issued its award in the operative bakers and pastrycooks’ dispute. The award relates to (inns’ employees and conditions in the Wellington industrial district, but other districts may be included on application. The courtin a memorandum attached to the award, said that the clauses in respect of hours, wages, labourers, overtime, holidays (including annual holidays), and the employment of females were in dispute. It was agreed at the hearing that proceedings should bo on lines of a dominion dispute, 't he court had decided to fix the weekly hours at 46. The union's claim for a 44hour week could not be conceded, as the court was not satisfied that a week’s work in the majority of cases could bo got through in less than 46 hours. The 46hour week appeared to have worked satisfactorily in two districts in which it was now in operation. Regarding wages, the court had fixed rates in accordance with thojie generally prescribed by more recent awards made in other districts. The court had decided to omit the former drastic limitation of the ' number’ of labourers and junior labourers, being of opinion that the restriction of their duties to purely unskilled operations was sufficient to impose a natural limitation of their numbers. The court had also fixed the commencing age at 18 in order to encourage younger lads to become apprentices instead of embarking on dead end employment. Hie overtime rates differed considerably in the various awards, but t)io court had decided to standardise them on the basis of time and a-quarter for the first two hours, time and a-half for the next two hours, and double ti t me thereafter. In that connection the court had incorporated bonuses in basic rates, ,so that overtime would in future be payable on the total wages. The holiday clause related to tho _ Wellington district only, and might be varied in other districts to suit local conditions. Tho court had provided for an annual holiday of one week for each year of continuous service. The matter of the employment of females gave the court some difficulty, but the court had decided to permit females, other than journeymen, to perform certain skilled operations for which they were peculiarly suited, at a rate equivalent to two-thirds of the journeymen’s rate. The scope of the award was a matter of difficulty owing to the proprietors of a’ number of tea rooms, homemade cake shops, and drapers’ tea rooms having been cited. The court considered that tea rooms (whether in drapers’ shops or independently managed) should not bo included, if they did not sell bakers’ or pastrycooks’ goods for consumption off the premises. The court considered also that genuine home-made cake shops in which journeymen were not employed should not bo covered by this award, but should be dealt with under a separate award. Application for such an award had been filed in tho Canterbury district, Tho court had deleted a number of names of proprietors of these establishments from lists of parties to the presentaward and would on application strike out any others who satisfied the court that they did not come within tho scope. Members of the court were not unanimous on every clause, but had decided to accept the award as a whole without dissent. The hours of work for bakers and pastrycooks shall not exceed 46 in any one week. The hours of starting work for bakers i shall not, be earlier than 4 a.m. except on Saturdays and tho day immediately preceding public holidays, when it may be 3 a.m. In the event of a double holiday work may be commenced at 2 a.m. In tho event of a public holiday work mav be commenced at 1 a.m. Where employers have .country deliveries or have to forward bread by country coaches they may start work at 3 a.m. Under this sub-clause provision is made for the payment of overtime in connection with Sunday Work in towns having a population of less than 1500 persons according to the census of 1916. The hours of work may be fixed by each employer according to the requirements of his particular business. Hours of starting work for pastrycooks shall not be earlier -than 6 a.m. on four days’of the week and not earlier than 4 a.m. on Saturday and one other day of the week which shall at the employer’s option be cither Monday or Friday in cases of emergency, and on any holiday and day immediately preceding any holiday the starting time shall bo agreed on between employers and the foremen except as provided in the last preceding subclause. * No pastrycooks’ work shall be commenced before 6 a.m. unless paid at the rate of double time. The minimum wage shall be as follows: Foreman baker or pastrycook, £5 3s per week; journeymen baker or pastry cook. £4 13s per week; bakers labourer: £3 19s per week. A baker’s labourer shall not. be employed in actual manufacture of bread or small goods except that ho may be employed to assist journeymen, in working a bread-making machine. The apprentices’ pay for the first six months shall be £1 7s 6cl per week, for the second six months £1 10s per week, for the third six months £1 17s 6d per week, for the fourth six months £2 per week, for tho fifth six months £2 5s per week, for the sixth six months £2 17s 6d per week, for the eighth six months £3 5s per week, A special provision dealing with automatic bakeries specifies that “workers may be employed in shifts of not more than eight hours and between thp hours of 3 a.m. and 8 p.m., whore the employers have country deliveries or have to forward bread by country coaches, and in other cases the hours of work may be between 4 a.m. and 8.30 p.m. at ordinary rates of pay.. Workers shall be employed on morning. and afternoon shifts alternately unless otherwise arranged by mutual consent.” The new award will come into operation on October 9 and continue in operation until October 9, 1924. THE PRINTING TRADE. TYPOGRAPHERS’ DISPUTE. (Per United Press Association.! _ WELLINGTON, October 2. The hearing of the typographical dispute was commenced in the Arbitration Court, Tho object of thej proceedings is to secure, if possible, a dominion award. Mr F. Pirnni, on behalf of the Wellington Newspaper Proprietors, expressed regret that the Typographical Union had not agreed to hold a conference except under tho condition that the employers must first concede a basic wage of £5 10s for compositors as against the existing wage of £4 10s 3 c and bonus of 9s. The employers’ representatives were prepared to meet the other side in a reasonable manner. They were willing to give the existing wages with bonus increases as they occurred and 'allow the whole matter to stand on that basis lor the present. The trade could not stand any further increases in pay or reduction in hours. Regarding linotype operators, tho employers desired to have an hourly wage of pay fixed so that those who wished to do so might give the system a trial. Mr Pirani said that he would not call evidence. Mr C. H. Chapman, for tho typographical section of (ho employees, said that experience had shown that a weekly rate was advantageous to employers and workers alike. Tho union had asked in vain for reasons for tho proposed change, and in the absence of reasons the workers were strongly against hourly rates. Mr Chapman said that the employers’ proposal for a rate of 2s per hour in cities and Is lid in other (owns compared with the present wage of £5 8s per week and upwards was ridiculous taking into account the, wages paid to case hands and the scarcity of skilled operators and the prosperous state of the printing trade. Ten per cent, extra for night work was proposed as at present, but the union claimed that nighty workers should get £1 extra. Piecework in Now Zealand was the lowest paid in the world. Mr Chapman said that Now Zealand operators on piece sometimes made £7 to £S weekly, in Australia for similar work the wages would he £lO to £l2. The hours wore fixed in 19C0 at 42 per week, and there had been, no improvement since. Now the employees proposed to increase (lie hours to 45, The union hoped tho court would bo more inclined to decrease the hours. The calling of evidence for iho employees commenced shortly before the court rose for the day. One witness, n.n employee of the Government Printing Office, said (hat ho considered (lie general conditions of (he trade were detrimental to the health, and added that the bright metal used with monotypes was very . harmful to the eyesight. ’ Another member of the Government Printery staff expressed (he opinion that monolypists should be paid more than linotypists. A witness gave evidence to the effect that there should not bo a differentiation in nay according to tho size of the town. The case proceeds to-morrow.