In the News

Southland Times, Issue 25550, 19 December 1944, Page 4

In the News

Timber Workers’ Holiday The timber mills in Southland in common with those in other parts of the Dominion, will close for the Christmas and New Year holidays on Thursday and will reopen on Wednesday, January 10. Under the Annual Holiday Act the workers are entitled to two weeks’ holiday on full pay and also to the three statutory holidays which fall within the Christmas-New Year period. Parliamentary Recess If the Parliamentary recess continues until May, which is the present intention, members will be called together later in the year than they have been since 1940. Some of them, however, will be hard at work during the recess as members of the select committee set up to report on local body reform, although it is intended to reduce the length of time occupied by their investigation by dividing the committee into sections, which will cover different parts of New Zealand. The committee will be reunited for deliberation before the preparation of the report. Album of Honour The Invercargill R.S.A. is compiling a record that should be of interest and value in the years to come. It is an album of Southland men who have been killed or wounded and also of Southland men who have been decorated. Next of kin can assist by sending in photographs. So far as it is possible to do so, the Invercargill R.S.A. sends a letter of sympathy to the next of kin of every Southland man who is killed or wounded and photographs are often enclosed with the replies to these messages of sympathy. Difficulty is, however, experienced in communicating with the next of kin of Invercargill men because complete addresses are not given in the casualty lists and are not obtainable from Army headquarters in Invercargill. Shakespeare in Maori The first Maori translation of a complete work of Shakespeare is claimed to have been made by Mr Pei Te Hurunui Jones, native interpreter, oi Hawera, who has compiled in Maori unabridged versions of both “The Merchant of Venice” and “Othello” and an abridged version of “Julius Caesar.” The translations were written with ths object of giving the Maoris a wider choice of literature and of providing classical ■ works for' students of the Maori language. The Education Department and the registrar of the University of New Zealand have been approached about the use of the translations. Mr Jones said that “The Merchant of Venice” would be published shortly. “This is the first attempt made in New Zealand at anything of its kind and the translations will be of outstanding value to students of the Maori language,” said Mr J. Houston, ol Hawera. Mr Houston, who. has had a long association with Maori affairs, is a member of the University Advisory Committee on Maori adult education. 70 Hours a Week

The new Dominion award for dairy factory workers provides for a fiveday week of 40 hours. This represents a vast improvement on the conditions that ruled years ago, according to the Hon. T. F. O’Byrne, M.L.C., secretary of the Southland branch of the New Zealand Dairy Factory Workers’ Union. Mr O’Byrne told a reporter of The Southland Times that he could recall the days when the dairy workers’ award provided for a seven-day week and not more than 70 hours a week. The award, which the new award had superseded, provided for a 48-hour week in all but the smaller factories, which had a 52-hour week. There was provision under this old award for a 40-hour week during the slack season, but this was of little benefit to Southland workers, because most of the factories in Southland were closed during this period. Under the new award the first four hours after 40 hours were to be paid for at ordinary rates, the next four hours at time and a-half, and all hours beyond 48 at double time. There was also provision for time and a-half for work done on Sundays and statutory holidays.