THE EIGHT - HOUR'S SYSTEM. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 1589, 6 May 1882, Page 13

THE EIGHT - HOUR'S SYSTEM. TO THE EDITOR.

■'In-ailetterrin the Daily Times Mr M. W.; .Green, M.H.R., gives the following.^tatompnt. -ofi-tW clauses ;of the' suggested bill foe the., • legalisation of the eight-houi'g system :— - v.jl.. That eight .hours ,ohall constitute a legal •day's. -Work; iin all occupations, whether those j occupations be physical or.mental. • . i /, 2. That for all hours i.wprke,d over the legal iday of -.eight hours, .the employe 3haU.be ablo| •to.'recowjr, in. any court of law, pa-ymen.t oh( lovdrtime fop/tlie hours so worked, at a vate ( ppr s .honu6f.not.laßs a sum .than that received for •eaohiiourof the legal day, or at such highex-i .rate as .may be recognised as the rule of. the special trade or calling in- which the employe IS, cn 3 a ?rovided that nothing, in the f'oregping clauses shall be understood to prevent apy em-j j -ploye from , contracting' to work any , stated •number .of hours over the. legal day without I -fee or reward, such .contract to be in writmg,| i ■and .signed by the employe ; butiniheabsence f -of such properly-signed • contract ;th(} employe shall be'allowed to recover payment as ; proyided, uvclause'-2. ,», . . .''-i ■ . '•' r. .' . Suoh,.,in Ibrief (he says), are the provisions jwMchmit ;is suggested should be legal-ised.'-for 'the. .protection ',qf working men, : and- /for, the establishment, off eight hours as alJagal. day's work.. It will be seen that i the , -liberty iof . , the 1 ., subject,; will; be m no (waytiaterferdd .\yith. , There. is nothmg.m the 3 clauses, '-which says 'a,: man' shall not work .more than eight, hours,,but ,a simple proyisjon that eight. hours shall form a legal day, and •thaVinl the. absence of any written , and signed a°reement to the contrary, the employe shall , beable to recover payment for all hours worked •over the< eight per day, ox ,48 per, week. • ■ It may be Weed, What better position will such anf Act, if passed, .into la>y .place the « working men in ? .This : that it will be underlatood.that all the hours.they work per day over •ei^ht, without additional payment, they do so as .a matter of favour to their employer, and no^ a matter of right. This, alone, and the nescessity of a written agreement being necessary, will establish- the law of eight hours as, a fan 1 and legal day's work. . But' further, ,when an . employer' has to ask the employe to work these extra hours.as a favour, we all, know that ,em- ■ plovers do .not, as a rule, care to be under obligation to their servants, and thatrather than be ! under/obligation they wquld either arrange .that i the work should be done within the eight hoursj < or ''they would pay for the extratime. It would thus come about that.i without interfering with itheliberty of .the subjects and* by the, help of , the. law legalising the . eight, hours as a legal -.day, there would be ,established. the .universal 'application of; the principle. .As the law would , apply to all Government works, whether rail-j rways or others, it .would , at., once bnng into • operation . the eight jhours ,there } an.d , w.hera - ihore hours were worked, the Government,wpuld •Ibei compelled.to ,pay,for those hours .as over-, itime, fonho .Government f would dare 5 t0,, ask Ahe employes/to tsign* agreements to. work thd .extra hours without extra pay. . , ••<•;.! „ I f these .provisions .should be passed into 4aw, and an amendment, of Bradshaw.'s Act. so, as -to prevent the >employment f i of vfemalesj young ; persons, and" children, more than e^ghfi hours in any one day, the workers. WQtild hav<J '»llor.the«proteotion..as«to,,.hoiirs which . could reasonably ..be r _ex.p.ected, and^ew^ Zealon^ •would "honourable- distmofcion as the first colony in which- such laws had beei^ passedr' I.'1 .' ''" ■■ ' I