SATURDAY HALFHOLIDAY.

Timaru Herald, Volume CVIII, Issue 16714, 23 January 1919, Page 11

SATURDAY HALFHOLIDAY.

MEETING OF -SHOP ASSISTANTS.' ■Last night; in Hutchison's: tea rooms a - meeting of the shop assistants of Timaru was held to discuss the advisability of holding the weekly halfholiday in Timaru on Saturday, instead of -Thursday, and to consider the ques-tion--of; abolishing. -the. ; late night. Mr Jr "Williams presided Over a good attendance, which included Mr R. B.i Martin, of. Oliristchurcli,. secretary of the Shop Assistants' "Union. Martin' explained that *an- agitation was .going "on to establish "a Federated Union of : Shop Employees in the ■ Dominion. He. referred , • to the need . for .amending .the; Shops '&iid Offices Act, : which had. remained unchanged for ten years.- A federation of shop employees had been formed in Chrstcnurch to bring. about certain amendments to the Act. ( lb was intended to try and have the. Saturday I half holiday made iiniversal, to abolish the late nighty-, and- to - have - Easter Saturday, a." holidayj and tsvefeme' daily it 5.80 p.m. The late night was an obsolete; custom, was unnecessary, and wav retained only 4n 'the interests .6f>-"a sefisb section of the cofiimtuiity, Nftpier had abolished the late night, and the' employees were satisfied. Speaking of the Saturday half holiday, Mr Martin said that once it were established the employees would not wish to change it. The Timaru Borough Gouncil would have to decide this month the day on which the half holiday was to be observed, : and it was within the rights of the employees to petition the Clouncil to declare Saturday as the half holiday. Another method that could be pursued was to get up a petition to the Council, signed by ten per cent, of those on the Timaru municipal roll, asking that a referendum, be taken on the question. If the poll were unsuccessful then an attempt could be made to : have the Sliops and OfEiceß Act amended in the direction desired. An attempt should also be made to have Easter Saturday made , a holiday in Tiniaru. Waimate and Ashburton observed it as a holiday, and there • was no reason why Timaru should not do the same. Reverting to the abolition of the late night, Mr Martin said that ra«nv of the employers were in favour of its abolition, if the public would . do - its popping in the day time, and in Christeliurch the Shop Assistants' "Union had circularised the publio asking them to avoid shopping o.n the late night-. The meeting unanimously decided to support' the movement fot- the establishment of the half holiday 011 Satur«y, fer the abolition of the late night, that Easter Saturday be a holiday, and that the shops close daily at 5.30 p.m. except on Saturdays. It was also decided that a petition from the shop assistants be presented to the Timaru Borough Council at its next meeting, asking the Council to I declare Saturday the Statutorv. half holiday for the ensuing year.