UNION PROTESTS

Southland Times, Issue 23228, 17 June 1937, Page 4

UNION PROTESTS

NO GROCERS’ ASSISTANTS’

AWARD

After waiting four months for the Arbitration Court to give its decision on'their application for a new award, members of the Southland Grocers Assistants’ Union were disappointed to read in The Southland Times yesterday that the Court had decided to make no award at present, as it was feL that the time was opportune for a Dominion award. The union has decided to enter a strong protest against the decision and yesterday the secretary (Mr W. G. Whitby) sent a letter to the The Court expressed the opinion that as now constituted it felt that it was impracticable to deal adequately with evidence which the acting Judge had not heard. As there was a large number of awards expiring shortly and. about the same time, and as the trade appeared to be carried on throughout New Zealand on more or less uniform lines, the Court inclined to the view that a Dominion award was desirable. It was explained yesterday that most of the other grocery awards, would expire about October, and that it would be November or December before an application for a Dominion award could be heard by the Court. When the Court sat in Invercargill in February Mr ‘Justice Page stated that the Southland award would probably form the basis of awards in other centres. The union feels that it is justified in protesting to the Court against its decision, as it was put to a good deal of expense in going to the Arbitration Court in the first place and will now have to bear a share of the costs involved in an application for a Dominion award.