NEW AWARD FILED

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17229, 8 April 1930, Page 7

NEW AWARD FILED

THE PRINTING INDUSTRY MINOR ALTERATIONS ONLY (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this day. The award of the Arbitration Court in the typographical dispute has been issued. The classification of towns in the machine section has been brought, into line with that appearing in the hand section, and in the related trades award, which automatically increases by' 5s the earnings on machine operators in larger secondary towns by placing them on the same level as those in the four main centres.

Changes are made in the method of computing piece-rate earnings. The rates arc not altered, hut where type of a wider or narrower face than the standard is used, the cast up will he on the basis of work performed, instead of on an arbitrary basis. The rates for night work are unaltered. Regarding holidays, the court accepted an assurance that extra leave when asked for would not be unreasonably refused. Another matter was the option given employers to add a day to the annual holiday of a worker, instead of paying overtime rates for work done on holidays oilier than Christmas Day and (loud Friday. A majority of the court saw no objection to the option being continued, for it had the effect of giving one holiday for another. It was necessary tor newspaper staffs to work on certain public holidays, and there was nothing unreasonable in workers being given day for day when annual leave became due, instead of being paid overtime rates for a public holiday which could not; be given on the day on which it fell.

In other respects the new award is based on the old award. Mr. A. L. Monteith, the workers’ representative, dissented on the matter of piece rates. In his opinion it amounted to more work for less nionev.