ARBITRATION COURT.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9015, 23 August 1907, Page 4

ARBITRATION COURT.

The sittings of the Arbitration Court wore continued yesterday before Mr Justice Sim and Messrs S. Brown and R. Slater. GAS WORKERS' DISPUTE. The Gas ami Coke Stokers' Union ap- ! plied for an award on the linos recdin- , ■ mended by the Conciliation Heard, and ' cited the Christ church Gas Company as ! a party "to the dispute. I The Hon J. Barr appeared for the . I Union, and Mr R. C. Bishop repre- ■ senited the company. Mr Bishop addressed the Court, living that at Auckland the g?.& stokers were- still working under un j-.ward I made in lUO2, tJie rate of payment being 9s 4d per day of eight ho u res. The rate in Christchurch and Dune-din, was 9s. in Wellington 9s 3d. and in Palmorston ! North 9s 6d. The Conciliation Board ' recommended, that the Christchurch rate should be raised to 9b 3d, aud the 1 company had no objection. The rate was caluoitlatod to cover the extra f-ninday work. Without; Sunday work the rate ' should culy be 6s per day. The Wellington workers 'were quite satisfied with the. Us 3d rate ami with the other ieai ! tureis of their agreement, which in. most i i respects gave the same conditions as i j those ruling in Christchurch. Th- Union ; • claimed that stokers who were put on ! yard work, at times when there was no ! work in the retort house, should be > | paid their usual rat-e. The position of > ! the company was that it offered the ' men work in the yard at £'« a day • rather than put them off when there was no work for them in the retort '■ house. '■ His Honor asked whether a reduction was made if a man worked four hours of ' his shift in the retort house and four ' hours in the yard. Mr Bishop said that a reduction was • m<ade and his Honor said, that as the ■ rate was a " shift rate " it was not per- ' missiblo to make a reduction in such a ' case. Mr Bishop said that the provision won Id 1 be to the disadvantage of the men, 1 who would lose m>any a day's work alto- ' gether. The company also objected to the Union's claim that the weight of ' ooaliiK'-scoops should be reduced to 90ib. 1 Scoops weve imported of varying ' weigiits, aud it was impossible to ensure ' even weights. It was thought that as 1 there was only one establishment in the ' Union's district employing stokers, a ' preference to Unionists clause would be ' quite unnecesssary and unu-orkable. * His Honor said that it would compel stokers to join the Union. Mr Bishop said that Mt Barr had spoken, of lack of proper accommoila--1 tion for the men, but the conditions ' were as good a« ill mest gasworks \ throughout the. colony, and the construction of the new retort house would make some improvement. As the new ' retort house would cost from £60,000 I to £100,000, it would be a matter of ] some yeans before it could be quite completed. * Mr Barr said that the Christchurch ', Gas Company held a monopoly of gas ' production in the district, and it was in ! a, very robust financial position. The ■ conditions in Wellington were such i that all the stokers but one could gGt L their work done in six hours, and then leave the works. They received full I pay as for eight hours. Similar condi- ; tion.s ruled at Auckland. In regard to » the weight of scoops, he thought the

company could induce the scoop makers in England to supply only scoops of a lighr-woiirht standard. In regard to the prefeiv-r.cc clause, the \Jnion charged no entrance tec. and cast no obstacles in the way of any man becoming a member. There were twenty-seven members in the Union, twenty-one of whom were employed by the Christehnrch Gas Company. The Union desired a clause in the award that the dining-room should be kept clean. The Court reserved its decision. THE DAIRYMEN'S DISPUTE. His Honor asked Mr Thorn, who ap peared for the Workers' Union in the dairymen's dispute, if it was clearly um&wnstood by both parties that employers were required to ]>ay award nates only for actual time worked. Mr Thorn eaid that was understood. His Honor said that the award would be fixed for that day. The Court adjourned until 10 a.m. on the following day. AWARDS FILED. The awards of the Court in five more of the disputes heard at the current sittings here were nied with the Clerk of Awards. The following acre summaries of the awards : — LIVERY STABLE WORKERS. Sixty hours shall constitute a short week's work and seventy hom-s a long week's work. A long week includes a Sunday on. Each worker may have every alternate Sunday off, but may agree with his employer to work on his Sunday off at Is an hour. The minimum wage shall be £2 2s a week, overtime to be compensated by time off or paid for fortnightly at 9d an hour. Christmas Day and Good Friday shall be worked as Sundays. Youths may be employed at light work at wages from i £1 os to £1 15s per week, according to j age. So long as the rules of the Union . permit anyone now employed in the i trade in the Canterbury industrial dis- | trict, and anyone who may hereafter i reside in tli6 district, to join on payj ment of an entrance- tee not exceeding j ss ; and weekly contributions not cxi ceeding 6d a week, without ballot or | election, employers shall employ meinI hers in preference to non-members, if ! there are members equally qualified for the particular work and ready and willing to undertake it. Members and nonmembers shall receive equal pay for equal work. The award shall operate from September 1, 1907, to September 1, 1909. SADDLERS, HARNESS AND COLLAR MAKERS. Forty-eight hours shall const itute ia week, to expii-e at 1 p.m. on Saturday, o;' the statutory half-holiday. Overtime shall be paid at time and a quarter for the first four hours, time and a half after 10 p.m., and double time after midnight and on Sundays and award holidays. Only three classes of workers shall be employed, namely, journeymen (including women) apprentices and female stitchers. Journeymen shall be paid not less than Is per hour. All wages shall be paid weekly, and picco-work shall not be allowed. Under-rcite workers shall be allowed to obtain permits. Apprentices shall be paid os per week for the first year, 10s ior the second, los for the thirdj £1 for the fourth, and £1 5s for the fifth and the proportion of apprentices k> journeymen shall be limited in each branch of the trade. Female stitchers shall be paid 7s 6d per week for the first year, 12s 6d for the second, 17 S fd for the third, and 25s for the fourth Holidays in all branches shall be Good Friday, Easter Monday, the Sovereign's i Birthday, Labour Day, tho Prince** of Wales's Birthday, Christmas Day Box , ing Day, New Year's Day and Anniverl

snry Day. Preference shall be given ns under the Livery Stable "Workers' award, provided that an employer shall not bo compelled to dismiss any employ pp employed by him at the time of miikinp; the award. Tlio award shall date- from September 1. 1007, to September 1 . lUOS. BOOKBINDERS AND PAPER j RULERS. | 'Hie hours of Labour Khali bo fortyj eight per week, and the minimum wage i lor competent journeymen £3 per week. Casual workers <<liall be paid le ■lid per hour, if competent. Overtime shall be pp.id lor at the rate of time and a third, double rates for Sunday. Christinas Day or Good Friday, and tinio and a half for Xew Year's Day, Easter Monday, Labour Day, King's Birthday, Boxing Djv and Anniversary I Day. Workers incapable of earning the minimum wage may be paid at a less rate. The apprenticeship term shall be six years, starting with 10s per j week, with annual increases of 2s Cd i till £1 10s is reached. The proportion of apprentices shall bo one for the house and one lor every three journeymen employed for more than eight months. Preference shall be given. ; The award shall operate for a radius of ! ten miles from the Chief Post Office. | Chmtchurch, and shall come into force i on September 1, 1907, and continue until December 31. 1908. DAIRYMEN'S EMPLOYEES. Creameries. — Wages of managers shall be, for first-class £2 17s 6d per week, second-class £2 10s, third-class £2 2s 6d, fourth-class £1 17e 6d, with a deduction of 7s per week lor a dwellinghouse. Assistants in first-class creameries shall receive £1 per week. All employees shall be allowed fourteen days' holiday on full pay each year, or its equivalent. All wages shall be paid fortnightly. Hours of labour shall bo fifty -two per week from October 1 to March 31, and forty-four per week for the rest of the year. Dairy Factories. — The minimum wages shall be as follows : — For testing and culture-making, the head of the department £3 ss, others £2; for churning and butter-making, the head of the department £3 us, the first assistant £2 15s, others £2 2s; for packing, the head of the department £3 os, the first assistant £2 12s 6d, others £2 ; for cream-receiving and can-washing, the head of the department £2 11s, others £2 2s; for boys of sixteen and under, 12s 6d ; for youths over sixteen and under seventeen, 15s, with a yearly increase of 5s up to the age of twenty; for those over twenty and under twenty-one, 35s per week, if they have passed through other classes ; for the first engine-driver, £2 15s, with house; for the second engine-driver, £2 Ss. Sunday work shall be paid for at the rate of time and a quarter. The award shall come into force on September 1, 1907, and continue until September 1, 1908. Each employer shall employ members of the Union in preference to non-members, provided that there are members of the Union equally qualified to perform the particular work required, and that the employer shall know of such members and shall be able to obtain their services without undue delay. PLASTERERS. The horn's of work shall be from 8 a.m. till 5 p.m. on five days of the week, with one hour for dinner, and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, from August 1 to April 30, and from 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. on five days of the week, with half an hour for dinner, and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday for the rest of the year. Wages for competent plasterers shall be not less than Is 6d per hour.' Overtime shall be paid at the rate of time and a quarter for the first two hours and time and a half afterwards. Time and a half shall be paid for all overtime on Saturdays, double time for all work done on Sunday, Christmas Day or Good Friday. I Work on all other holidays shall be ! paid for at the rate of thn© and a half. j The cost of travelling to country work • is to be defrayed by the employer, and 1 eitiier free board and lodging given or ; fifteen per cent on wages allowed. Api prentices shall receive 9s per week for i the first year, 13s for the second, 17s I for the third, 21s for tho fourth, and | 30s for the fifth. Under-rate workers ! may be granted permits, and men may i bo discharged at half an hour's notice. ! Preference shall be given as under the Livery Stable Workers' award. The award shall bind all employers within a radius of ton miles of the Chief Post Office Cbristchurch, and shall date 1 from 'September 1, 1907, until September 1, 1909.