DAIRY FACTORY DRIVERS

Taranaki Daily News, 22 December 1930, Page 7

DAIRY FACTORY DRIVERS

ARBITRATION INTERPRETATION.

QUESTION OF WAGES TO BE PAID.

An interpretation of the Taranaki creameries, cheese and butter factories and dairy employees’, award was received at New Plymouth from the Arbitration Court on Saturday. The application was made by the inspector of awards when Hie court last sat at New Plymouth. It was directed in the award, inter alia, that the minimum wages for motor lorry and horse drivers should be Die weekly rates prescribed in the current drivers’ award. The question of interpretation had arisen in the following circumstances: —Drivers in the employment of certain dairy factories, although employed, within the hours -prescribed for factory workers-by clause 1 of the award, were employed in excess of the hours fixed by clause 1 of the drivers’ award. Only the wages prescribed by clause 2 of the latter award wdre’ paid. Should overtime rates iri accordance with clause 8 be paid for time worked in excess: of the hours fixed by clause l,df the drivers’ award? Answering that question Mr. Justice Frazer said a driver employed by a dairy company in carting produce to and from the factory and in carting factory supplies to the factory and generally in doing carting work in connection with the operations of a dairy factory was covered by the hours provisions of the dairy factory employees’ award. The only way in which the drivers’ award affected him was in respect of wages. If a driver was not employed in dairy factory, work but in general carting his employment was governed by the provisions- of the drivers’ award and not the dairy factory award. If a driver Was employed by. a. dairy company in-its own work, as described above, arid did general carting such as delivering general merchandise to persons not suppliers to the company, or delivering-general merchandise: to and from a stope run by the company, he was not. covered by the dairy factory Award but by the special conditions of the drivers’ award made for driiry factories.