ANNIVERSARY DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27038, 24 March 1949, Page 6

ANNIVERSARY DAY

CITY STREETS QUIET MOST FACTORIES WORKING AGREEMENT WITH ' UNIONS Almost the only shopping that could be done in Dunedin yesterday was window shopping. Few retail stores were open for business on Anniversary Day, the exceptions being milk bars and confectionery shops. As a result of the shut-down in the retail trade, few persons except those who were obliged to go to work, came into the main shopping areas of the city in the morning, and for the greater part of the day the streets presented a typical holiday appearance. Queues waited outside the picture theatres and other places of amusement early in the afternoon, and some sports organisations made the most of a free day. The majority of manufacturers premises were open for business as usual. In some cases where awards prescribed Anniversary Day as a holiday, but provision was made for another day to be given in lieu of March 23 if a majority of a staff desired it, staffs worked yesterday and will receive an extra day at Easter. In other cases, where no such provision existed in awards, agreement was reached between the employers, a majority of the staffs and union officers to have Anniversary Day transferred to Easter, and the staffs worked yesterday. This met with the approval of the majority of the employers, as it meant that there would be only one interruption of production instead of two. In most cases, from the employees’ point of view, a longer holiday at Easter was preferable to a day’s holiday in the middle of the week. In one case, however, an employer told the Daily Times that he agreed with some misgiving to allow work to be done on the holiday and the day transferred to Easter. He said that last year he had adopted this course at the request of his staff, and subsequently he was obliged to pay his factory workers at penalty rates when action was taken by the union. On this Anniversary Day, however, he had acceded to a request by the staff and the union to transfer the holiday. The brief connection with the normal working day afforded by the daily postal deliveries was denied citizens yesterday, as no 'deliveries were made on the holiday. Most of the other activities of the Post Office proceeded much as usual, - however, although minimum staffs were working. Most of the clerical branches of the civil service had a free day, and even the hub of civic activities —the Town Hall office —was a “closed shop” for 24 hours. Bunting that was scarcely settled into its new folds after a centennial airing again flew bravely from a few city buildings, but its silent tribute to the anniversary of the province was by no means widespread. The colder weather dissuaded mahy persons from making a trip to the city beaches, and the majority spent the holiday indoors or doing some of the dozens of odd jobs about the house or garden that accumulate during pleasant weather and through the human trait of procrastination. Gardeners had plenty of jobs awaiting attention with most warm weather crops almost finished and preparations for winter planting demanding attention. Services in the Town Hall expressed the spirit of the day. Last year, Anniversary Day, on which the landing of the pioneers at Port Chalmers was reenacted, was a cold day, with showers of rain and a blustery wind. It was just a coincidence that yesterday should have brought similar * conditions, but the weather itself recalled to mind the rigours and hardships that confronted the pioneers not only on their long sea voyage, but on their arrival at Port Chalmers to settle in a new land.