ARBITRATION COURT.

Otago Witness, Issue 3031, 17 April 1912, Page 7

ARBITRATION COURT.

WOOLLEN MILLS' WORKERS' AWARD. ! CHRISTCHURCH, April 10. The Arbitration Court has made its award in the industrial dispute between the Canterbury woollen mills' workers and employers (Kaiapoi, Timaru, and Ashburton). The chief points are as follow:—Fortyeight hours constitute a week's work. Hours of working at night shall be arranged between the mill manager and the majority of the nigKl workers. Overtime rates shall be time and a-quarter for the first four hours, time and a-lialf afterwards until starting time next morning, and double time for Sundays and holidays as prescribed in the Factories Act. Where, owing to slackness of work or the exigency of trade, it is necessary to work snort time the employer ehall distribute the work as evenly as possible, and workers shall be paid only for th« time worked. Preference is granted, and provision is made for under-rate workers. Wages: Girls on weekly wages—First year, 8s; second year, lis; third ye!fr, 14s ; fourth year, "20a; and thereafter a minimum of 25s per week. Boys and youths—From 14 to 15 years, 8s ; 15 to 16 years, lis; 16 to 17 years, 14s; 17 to 18 vears, 17s 6d; 18 to 19 years, 22a 6d; 19 to 20 years, 27s 6d ; 20 to 21 years, 355; and thereafter a minimum wage of 45s per week. Boys and youths on night work —From 16 to 19 fears, 25s ; 19 to 20 years, 30s ; 20 to 21 years, 35s j and thereafter a minimum of 48s. Male workers over 21 years employed as wages hands—Wool sorters, 50s ; tuners, 56s ; Warpers, 565; pattern weavers (hand looom), 48s; spinners, 50s; carpenters, 60s ; blacksmiths, 60s ; all other workers, 455. Hosiery hands—The rate for time workers shall be as herein before prescribed. Pieceworkers (male and female)— Present rates to continue. Weavers— Where one weaver attends to two looms' the following deductions shall be made from the piece workers: —ls per cent, on rugs, tweeds, and fancy worsteds, and 33£ per cent, on all other lines. The award comes into force on May 6, 1912, and continues in force until May 6, 1914. In the memorandum the court says: " This award is based for the most part on the award of 1902. The principal alterations are: (1) An increase in the wages of female workers in unskilled departments ; (2) an increase of 3s a week in the minimum wage for the lowest-paid adult workers. In view of the evidence adduced by the employers as to the condition of the industry, the court did not feel justified in increasing the minimum for any of the skilled workers, although that minimum may appear low when compared with that paid to the other skilled workers. The mill workers, however, have the advantage of regular work all the year round. (3) Preference has been granted to the union members. (4) Provisions have been made for the case of weavers working two looms." CANTERBURY ENGINEERS. CHRISTCHURCH, April 10. In the case of the Canterbury engineers' award (Christchurch branch), the following interpretation has been made:—All time lost by an apprentice, either through his own default or through sickness, in any vear of his apprenticeship shall be made' up before such apprentice shall be considered as having entered upon the next succeeding year of his apprenticeship, but an apprentice working overtime lhall have such time added to his ordinary time in calculating the respective years of his apprenticeship. The clause does not apply to time lost before the award came into force. PLUMBERS* DISPUTE, WELLINGTON*, April 10. The court's award in the plumbers' dispute declined to increase the minimum wage to Is 6d per hour, as the? union had not advanced any reason to justify any such alteration.