CITY ASSESSORS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23647, 3 November 1938, Page 17

CITY ASSESSORS

COUNTY COUNCIL DISPUTE "TRAVESTY OF CONCILIATION" STRONG EXCEPTION TAKEN (Per United Press Association) WELLINGTON, Nov. 2. Strong exception was taken by Mr W Marshall, chairman of the Ohinemuri County Council in Conciliation Council proceedings to the contention of the employees' assessor that the salaries of county clerical workers should be on the same basis as in the civil service When the assessor for the employees suggested that the council might as well abandon proceedings and go ,to the Arbitration Court, Mr Marshall interjected: " It is a travesty of conciliation that assessors from the city should hold up a county council employees dispute.'' He was referring to the fact that five of the six employees' assessors were from Wellington and Auckland. T f the dispute was sent to the court in that manner he was going to ask the counties' representative to explain the reason and. further, through the Counties' Association, ask the Government for an amendment to the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act to mak it compulsory that the assessors of the employees should be chosen from the workers affected It was pointed out that there was no County Council Officers' Union, and that they were included in the Local Bodv Officers' Union. The employers offered to amend the salary scale risin° to £2BO in the eighth vear. then to £290 £3OO and £312 in the eleventh year. Exemption from the hours of work clause was asked for in the case of employees receiving in excess of £6 a week. Provision is to be made for the payment of bonuses for examination successes. FULL AGREEMENT REACHED TERMS OF NEW AWARD A FORTY-HOUR WEEK (Per United Press Association) WELLINGTON, Nov. 2. A complete agreement was reached to-day by the Conciliation Council which, considered the county councils administrative staffs' dispute. The award, which covers the Northern, Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson and Otago industrial districts, will come into force as from last Monday and will expire on January 31, 1940. The employees of county councils, road boards, river boards and drainage boards are governed by its provisions, but men being paid £350 or more a year apart from overtime are excluded. The wages clause agreed on provides for a commencing wage of £65 a year for men, and other wages are graded up to £312 a year in the eleventh year. The wage scale for women provides for a commencing wage of £52 a year with increases up to £169 a year in the eighth year. A 40-hour week was agreed on with provision that in certain emergencies 80 hours may be worked in a fortnight. There are to be the usual'public -holidays with an addition of two weeks' annual holiday.