CONCILIATION COUNCIL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19136, 2 April 1924, Page 11

CONCILIATION COUNCIL.

LIMEWORKERS’ DISPUTE. The Conciliation Commissioner (Mr W. I-I. Haggar) sat in Dunedin yesterday to hear a dispute between the Otago and Southland I.ime, Cement, Phosphate, and Marl Employees’ Industrial Union of Workers and the lime works owners of Otago and Southland. The assessors for the employers were: Messrs H. W. Mackerrey (Dunedin), .T. IT. M'Kenrio (Winton), and W. J. Stafford (Browns). The employees’ assessors were; Messrs R. Barker (Milburn). J. Hollow (Alma), and S. Boreham. Mr A. S. Cookson acted as agent for tho employers It was decided! to strike out Messrs Wright, Stephenson, and Co., the Ewing Phosphate Company, and James Doeherty (f.imehills). It was agreed that the hours of work ‘be the same as in the old award, and tha; (he clauses relating to overtime also be the same with the alteration that time and a-half bo paid for the firsf* four hours instead of time and a-half for the first three hours; time over four hours to bo paid double. In connection with holidays Ihe elauso in the old award was adopted. The clauses relating to preference to unionists and to underrate workers were also adopted. The following rates of wages per hour were agreed to, the old rates of pay being given in parentheses Drill man with ex--1 plosive permit, 2s (Is 9d); tlnli assistants with explosive permit. Is lid (Is Ed); oil and gas engine men. Is 9j,cl (Is 7id); feeders to crushers and mills. Is 9d (Is 7£d); feeder to burnt lime mill. Is 9d (Is (kill burners and drawers in coal kilns, Is 9>>d (Is 8d); burners and drawers gas fire kilns Is 9d (Is 7id); spall era. Is 9d (—); General hands, quarry labourers, baggers, barrow men, truckers, shed hands, Is B|d (Is 7d). With regard to hours these were fixed at 48 hours per week, provided that by mutual arrangement between anv employer and a majority of the employees, the dailv hours may be so extended that the 48 shall be completed bv noon on Saturday. The term of the award was from April 1, 1924. to April 1. 1926. A complete agree/nent was arrived at.

RABBIT PROSECUTIONS. TO THJt F.nITOH Sin, —Periodically our attention is drawn to matters pertaining to the rabbit and at this particular time the grievance is the administration of the Rabbit Act as shown bv the number of prosecutions and various comments in vour issues. According to tho information brought forward there seems to be some just cause for such complaints But the question to rny mind at the present time is; What has any Minister of Agriculture or any member of the Rabbit Department ever done to further the elimination of tho rabbit pest? We are no further ahead to-day than we were 40 years ago. One correspondent wrote “Erect netting.’’ In many parts the success of that would only be a matter of conjecture. In other places it may suit its purpose well. There has always been an opinion that much could be done in suppressing the pest by the erection of wire netting especially when favourable facilities are procurable. In portions of Otago which have been thrown open from time to time for settlement by the Government these opportunities have undoubtedly been present, and much could have been done had tne Minister of Agriculture co-operated with the Minister of Lands and seen to it that ip the subdivision of these runs fences should it be at all practicable tho boundary fences wore so adjusted as to offer tho best opportunity for the erection of wire net-tinn fences. This has not been done. T shall mention -list one block of land. Whfcrc could you find land more suitable for this purpose than in the late subdivision of part of tho old Tcviot station? We have not got to go far to find an example o ( , what can bo done with wire netting in that district and on that class of land. Had the block been surveyed as suggested and had the Government gone “one better” in supplying wire netting at cost price, with probably three to five years to pay for it, we might have had in the course of a few years many thousands of acre'' practically dear of the pest, and a precedent set which ultimately would have been the means of establishing many more such areas, as it is more advantageous for a company of settlers, all intent on the same purpose, that of eliminating the pest, to achieve this object than for an individual settler. ' It will not bo Tong before this subdivision of tho old pastoral runs will be a thing of the past, and all opportunity for an experiment of this kind will have gone—l am. etc., J, c. Smith. Lovell’s Flat, March 29.