SHOPS AND OFFICES BILL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3112, 5 November 1913, Page 4

SHOPS AND OFFICES BILL.

COMMITTEE’S AMENDMENTS

(Ekom Oub Own Cokhespondent.)

WELLINGTON, October 24. The Shops and Offices Bill, which has been under the consideration of the Labour Bills Committee for many weeks past, was reported to t' e House to-day. The committee has made a large number of amendments in the Bill, but many of these are of a minor or merely verbal nature. Employees in hotels and restaurants are brought within the definition of shop assistants. All shops are required to register as such within 14 days of notice. The time for the commencement of work by butchers’ shop assistants has been altered from 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. The operation of the overtime clause in regard to shop as-, sistants is extended from those receiving up to £2OO a year to those receiving up to £250 a year. Three days’ grace in the payment of wages is allowed as against the original proposal of seven days. Provision is made for meeting local circumstances in regard to the day of the weekly half-holiday. The closing time on such days is fixed for 12.30 p.m. Instead of 1 p.m. Butchers and pork butchers are brought into line -with other shops in regard to the day of closing, and railway bookstalls are also included in the compulsory closing list. The committee has struck out the clause which proposed to extend the closing hours on four days of the week in the four large cities from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The working hours of males in hotels and restaurants have been reduced by the committee from 62 to 60 per week, and the wroking hours of females in hotels have been reudced from 58 to 56. Ten hours has been fixed as the maximum working time in any one day in hotels and restaurants without the payment of overtime. One shilling per hour (instead of ninepence) is fixed as the maximum overtime rate.

A proviso has been inserted to the effect that provision may be made in any award or industrial agreement relating to assistants in hotels or restaurants for a whole holiday of 24 hours in each week, in lieu of the half-holiday. This provision, however, may bo modified in respect of specified localities on cause being shown. Office assistants whose wages are or exceed £2OO a year shall not be entitled to payment for extended hours. This provision applies to office assistants in a largo number of specified offices who are employed after 1.30 p.m. on Saturdays, or after 5.30 p.m. .on other days. The committee has struck out clause 40, which provided that employers commit an offence whenassistants are employed later than 15 minutes after the prescribed closing time. Clause 56, which proposes to exempt newspaper offices from the operation of the Act for certain purposes, has also been struck out.