CLERICAL WORKERS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20669, 6 March 1937, Page 5

CLERICAL WORKERS

OTAGO DISPUTE COURT HEARS EVIDENCE By Telegra ph--PreHs Association DUNEDIN, March 5. The Arbitration Court was engaged to-day hearing the Otago clerical workers’ dispute, the Court being adjourned before the whole of the evidence had been heard. In connection with applications for exemption by' law and accounting firms, the Court said it would take time to consider its decision.

Referring to the general dispute, Mr Herbert, for the Union, stated that a substantial agreement had been arrived at in a Conciliation Council on most of the points involved along the lines of the award given by the Court in Wellington. The clauses in dispute were those relating to the Anniversary Day holiday, the claim for two days off duty to newspaper clerks who had to work on the statutory holiday, and the scope of the award. Mr Herbert submitted that there should be no argument necessary for the Court to include Anniversary Day, as it had given this holiday in the Wellington award. In regard to the second matter in dispute, he contended that newspaper clerks were called upon to work on statutory holidays when most other workers were free. For this convenience to the employers these workers should be recompensed with additional time off which would be more than ordinary time. Dealing with the scope of the award, Mr Herbert said that In the Conciliation Council the employers, although not opposing the scope asked for by the Union, refused to take the responsibility of agreeing to the Union's claims in the matter. In the Otago district there were no towns of any size outside of Oamaru, and as the Union had members in all districts m Otago, he urged that the Court should fix the scope of the award to cover the whole of the Otago district. Mr Cookson, for the employers, said that the reason for contesting the application for the Anniversary Day holiday was that Anniversary Day was not observed generally as a holiday in Otago. Factories did not close but offices did. The holiday would still be observed in the latter case. With regard to newspaper clerks, Mr Cookson submitted that one day oft was sufficient for work done on any one statutory holiday. The employers asked that the award should apply only to within r 12 mile radius of Dunedin and not the whole, of the Otago district, because the Union was not familiar with the position ruling in other parts of the district other than Dunedin.

The Court then adjourned until Monday.