DRIVERS’ DISPUTE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19978, 1 July 1939, Page 5

DRIVERS’ DISPUTE

CONFERENCE OF PARTIES

NO AGREEMENT MADE 40-HOUR WEEK ISSUE __ EMPLOYERS’ STATEMENT »Yv’v(Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this day. No agreement was reached on most of the issues when the employers of drivers representative of city and country commercial transport operators, oil companies and bakers met representatives of the Auckland Drivers Union with Mr. A. Parlane, president of the New Zealand Drivers’ Federation, at Wellington yesterday. The Auckland delegates returned home last night. When the meeting concluded, the chairman, Mr. H. J. Bishop, made this statement on behalf of the employers. . “The complaints of the"alleged unsatisfactory- operation of- the New Zealand motor and horse drivers’ award, which originated as a resuLt of / the Auckland drivers’ stop-work meeting on Wednesday, were discussed,” said Mr. Bishop. “The complaints concerned seasonal hours of long and! short weeks under Part II of the award, the interpretation of serious misconduct in the same section, the method of working under the country work clause and the alleged delay into putting into effect the judgments of Mr. Justice O’Regan and Mr. J. L. Gilmour, S.M., in granting a 40-hour week to certain drivers. Offer of Employers - “The employers offered to agree to • any future cases that might arise as to long and short weeks, or the interpretation of serious misconduct being referred to the disputes committee as •'-provided in clause 20 of ‘the award. - “It appeared that the interpretation placed on the -country work clause by two employers, whose cases we re specifically quoted by the union, was identical with that placed on a similarly-worded clause by the Court of Appeal in 1935 and, consequently, that there had been full compliance with the award. The wording of the clause was taken from the workers’ own claims in the dispute out of which . the award was made. “As to the -delay alleged' in putting into • effect the judgments, it was pointed out that there had been conflicting views expressed by the two ’ ;Courts of Arbitration as to the legal position and further proceedings had been commenced in order to obtain a judgment clarifying the position. An appeal had been lodged from the decision .of Mr. Gilmour with the same object. - Early Hearing Asked “The employers would not agree to waive their legal 'rights in these cases, but did agree to join with the union in asking the Minister of Labour to arrange for these proceedings to be heard at the earliest possible moment. “Accordingly, a joint deputation • waited on the Minister, as a result of which he promised to endeavour to get the cases heard by the court, either in Wellington under the presidency of Mr. Justice O'Regan or at Dunedin under Mr. Justice Callan at' the earliest .possible date. As this matter was the only one in which a combined course of action and agreement could -be reached, the meeting broke up" without any settlement being reached on the other issues.”