ARBITRATION COURT.

Otago Witness, Issue 3754, 23 February 1926, Page 29

ARBITRATION COURT.

BUS AND CHARABANC DRIVERS’ DISPUTE. A sitting of the Arbitration Court was held on Wednesday for the purpose of hearing evidence in regard to an application for an award covering the drivers of passenger motor buses. His Honor Mr Justice Frazer presided, and the other members of the court (Messrs W. Scott and H. Hunter) were also present. Mr A. C. Cookson appeared for the employers and Mr W. Herbert for the union. The statement of claims set out that 48 hours should constitute a week’s work for all motor bus, charabanc, and motor vehicle workers, and that no driver should be employed for a longer period than five hours without a meal. The wages asked for ranged from £6 per week for passenger motor vehicles with a seating capacity for more than 25 passengers to £4 10s for vehicles with seating rapacity for not less than six. In the holidays clause Christmas Day and Gocd Friday and an annual leave of 12 working days were asked, and that for work done on Sundaj’s and the two holidays specified double rates should be paid Casual drivers were defined as those who were engaged for less than one week, the payment asked being not less than 2s 6d per hour, and for overtime, holidays, and Sundays, 3d per hour in addition to the -ate provided for permanent drivers. A clause also provided that drivers’ "overs” were to be placed in juxtaposition to shortages every day and balanced to drivers every pay day; credit balances to be carried forward. Drivers to have the right to make up their own bag. In his opening remarks Mr Herbert stated that when the dispute came before the Conciliation Council the employers representatives refusr 1 to discuss any proposals for an award. Mr Cookson said there had been no discussion because there was no possibility of agreement on the terras proposed-. . James Jardine, motor driver, said he had had practically 18 - ears’ experience. Twelve months ago e was employed on the Dunedin-Wan aka service. He received £4 12s per week. He started at the garage at 7.30 a.m., and if he ran up to schedule time he reached Wanaka at 6 p.m. Witness was frequently behind schedule time. He put in three days per week on the run and three days in the garage. He had worked 12 hours on each of two Sundays, for which he received no extra payment. He left the company s service because the hours were too and he could do better outside.

To the president: Witness did not get time off during the week for the time worked on Sundays. Mr Herbert said that completed the evidence for the service drivers, and he wished to call evidence on behalf of the town drivers James Robert Dunnett, bus driver for the City Corporation, said his hours of work varied. lie had worked 17 hours in one day. and he had worked o- 1 six. There was no definite arrangement about hours. In England the recognised working day was one of eight hours, and overtime was paid for anything extra. The hours at Home were fixed at eight because it had been found that they were previously too long, as much as 18 hours havi been woiked in one day. Tom Hart Mann, a bus driver employed by the City Corporation, said he had had two years’ experience as conductor and driver As far as witness knew there waa no limit to the hours worked. He worked on an average perhaps 70 or 80 hours a week. Witness understood that overtime was paid after eight hours, but he did not know definite!) how they were paid. There was no regular meal reiiet. vVitness had gone 12J hours without time off for meals. , Mr Hunter said the question of meals had been the subject of a lot of contro versy in Christchurch, where the men on (he trams preferred to take their meals on the cars rather than be relieved. Witness said it wag impossible to drive a bus and eat at the same time. On some runs there was no provision for getting meals as the bus was running practically ail the time. To Mr Cookson: His last pay for a fortnight was £l6 but he did not know how it was made up. The pay had been biggar since the opening Of the Exhibition owing to the hours of work being longer. Jas Foster Seear, bus driver for the City Corporation, said he had had practically seven years’ experience in London. He understood that the wages were Is lid per hour for driving and Is 8d for conducting. When he joined the service he understood that the hours would be 96 per fortnight. At Home drivers were guaranteed 48 hours Eer week, with overtime daily after eight ours. Bus-driving was regarded as semiskilled work at Home. To Mr Cookson: At Home there was a regular meal relief of at least 20 minutes between the third hour and the fifth hour. W. 11. Mackenzie, tramway manager for the City Corporation, said the bus drivers were paid Is lid per hour when they were in sole charge and Is lOd when a conductor was provided. Any time over eight hours wa paid for at the rate of time and a-half, and double time was paid on Sundays. The average hours worked by the bus operators at present were about 10 per day. but they were longer than usual at present on account of the oxcep tional circumstances prevailing. The bus drivers had expressed a desire to come under (he tramway agreement but the matter had been held ovor pending the sitting of the court The President expressed the opinion that the best way to deni with them would be in connection with the tramways. The witness said a man might he employed as a conductor one day and as a bus driver the next day. To Mr Herbert: His department had drawn up a regular schedule for those on regular runs, but this was not possible on all runs. John MTiguo, president of the Tramways Union, said that negotiations had been in progross for getting the bus drivers under the tramway agreement. Witness thought the Corporation bus drivers should be under the tramway agreement and that the outsido drivors should come under a general motor bus drivers’ award. The bus drivers had unanimously decided to join the Tramways Unioa George Stanley Kirby, secretary of I ho company running the Peninsula Motor t : er vice, gave particulars about the operations of tno company. Five of the drivers were

knancially interested in the compa y. The ctivers seemed to be very keen on their v'ork and on occasions when they had Leon offered a night off they had refused to it. Hie drivers were paid £5 per '■‘cek The hours during the Exhibition period wore probably between 60 and 70 I er week.

David Krskine .Wave, manager of the Kurau Motor Service Co, gave details iri connection with the running of itg services. Witness thought his company was fully provided for under an exi-ting motor award. The drivers did not work excessive hours.

In his address to the court Mr Herbert submitted that there was a necessity for fixing a maximum number of hours. The union contended that there should be a daily limit in regard to hours worked without overtime, and suggested that that limit should be nine hours. The evidence showed that the wages ranged from about £3 10s to about £5 per week. Mr Cookson contended that (here had been practically no individual distress as a result of the hours worked.

His Honor said he thought that the conditions were really better than the court expected to find in view of the fact that there was no award in existence. Mr Cookson went on to ask the court to consider whether it could not defer making an award until it returned to Dunedin again. The award would cover a restricted area, and while it would bind the owners in that area people from outside could come in without any restrictions. If the matter could be held over for two or three months it might be possible to get it taken up in the other centres, where there were very important services. The employees would thus have an opportunity of contributing to the discussion as to an award which would have a vital influence on succeeding awards. The drivers employed bv the City Corporation were working under the conditions provided in the tramway agreement. There was no urgency in regard to making an award. The President said the court had discussed the question of the representatives of the parties meeting in conference after evidence had been given. The court thought that now that each side knew the strength of the other side’s case, they should have a conference and endeavour to reach agreement on some points. The court was prepared to hold the award over for two or three weeks, and if the points in dispute could be settled at a conference thev could be embodied in the award. If a conference were not held or if it did not result in even a partial agreement the court would consider whether it should make an award in view of the fact that possibly an application would be made to include the passenger bus drivers in the general drivers’ award. Mr Cookson said he did not think two or three weeks would be enough. The employers had not had an opportunity of discussing the matter. The President: You missed the opportunity when the case was before the Conciliation Council The court did not wish to rush the matter, and would leave it over for a month in order to give the parties an opportunity to confer, and forward any recommendations to the court. The case would he adjourned till March 17.