A GROSS INTERFERENCE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 223, 26 January 1911, Page 5

A GROSS INTERFERENCE

m DUNEDIN EMPLOYERS PROTEST. By Telegraph.-Press Association. Duncdin, Last Night. Clause 13 of the Shops and Offices Aco Amendment Act, 1010, came in for some scathing criticism at a meeting of the local master drapers. It was stated that under clause 13 it was made compulsory that every shop shall be registered by the occupier thereof with the Inspector of Factories in the name of one person as occupier, and, excepting in'the case of ' husband or wife, any other person engaged in the business of the shop was deemed to be a shop assistant, the result being that in a case where a business was owned by partners, one had to declare himself the occupier, while the other was deemed to be a shop assistant under the Act, and the employer so situated was required to get a permit to work outside the'prescribed hours in connection with his own business, and then was only permitted to do so to a limited extent. He was compelled to fill in the hours he worked, and the wages he received, in a book to be approved by the inspector. This clause was regarded by the master drapers as a gross interference with the rights of employers, and as an extremely stupid provision. The meeting decided to petition the New Zealand Employers' Federation through the Otago Association, to have the clause amended at the earliest opportunity.