LABOUR BILLS IN HOUSE

Taranaki Daily News, 19 December 1933, Page 5

LABOUR BILLS IN HOUSE

REPORTS FROM COMMITTEE

BOOT SCHEME COMPETITION

MECHANICS’ EXAMINATION

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

By Telegraph—Press Association. Wellington, Dec. 18.

The Labour Bills Committee recommended in the House of Representatives to-day that a petition asking for relief from, unfair competition of the boot repairing scheme for unemployed be referred to the Government for consideration. A similar recommendation was made by the same committee with respect to a petition asking for an inquiry into the conditions of film hiring in New Zealand.

The committee reported it had no recommendation to make regarding the petition of the Wellington Amalgamated Engineers and Allied Trades Union asking for an inquiry into the holding of examinations for motor mechanics by the New Zealand Garage Proprietors’ Association. Labour members said that the motor mechanics felt that the examination should not be set by the employers but should be on a national basis. They also complained that an additional 2d an hour promised to those who passed the A grade examination had not in all cases been paid. Mr. S. G. Smith (chairman of the Labour Bills Committee) said the examination scheme had been forced on the employers as the result of complaints by car-owners that work was being carried out by unskilled and inefficient employees. The committee, had investigated the complaint that additional wages had not been paid. The agreement had set out that 2d an hour above the award rate be paid and where there was no award there be a minimum paymch't of 2s an hour. It had been stated that the men who had passed the “A” grade examination had had their wages increased to 2s an hour, but in some cases they already had been receiving that amount.

Mr. Smith added that an opportunity was afforded by the initiation of the scheme to make an adjustment that, in time would be a benefit to mechanics, and he felt that in all probability it would be the forerunner of a scheme that would be universally adopted and appreciated by all parties. INJURED RELIEF WORKERS. Reporting on the Workers’ Compensation Amendment Bill, which deals with the method of computing compensation for injured relief workers, the Labour Bills Committee stated that it had not in the time at its disposal had an opportunity of fully considering the whole aspect of the law governing payment to injured workers, but in view of the proposition now made by the Unemployment Board in meeting claims for compensation to relief workers incapacitated through accidents in all cases where the board carried compensation liability it recommended that the Bill be not allowed to proceed this session. The Bill was introduced by the late Mr. H. E. Holland and taken over by Mr. W. E. Parry. The Co-operative Pig Marketing Companies’ Bill was reported from the Agricultural and Pastoral Committee with an amendment which provides that the legislation should apply only to companies in which 60 per cent, of the shares are held by persons engaged in supplying pigs to that company. The Wellington City Empowering and Special Rates Consolidation Amendment Bill (Mr. C. H. Chapman) and the Napier Harbour Board and Roman Catholic Archbishop Empowering Bill (Mr. W. E. Barnard) were read a second time.