FACTORY WORKERS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16496, 5 August 1921, Page 8

FACTORY WORKERS.

14 THE WOMEN MUST SUBSIST,"

FORTY-FOUR HOUR WEEK WANTED. Wages and conditions for workers in confectionery anti biscuit making factories were the subject of demands before the Arbitration! Court to-day, presided over by bis Honor Mr Justice Frazer and Messrs W, Scott (employers’ representative) and J. M’Cullough (workers’ representative). The outstanding feature of the demands was a j flat rate of £3 10s tor women and a ; forty-four hour week. Mutual agreements to adjust provisions or awards to meet conditions brought about by industrial stringency were under notice. The chief demands follow’ in a summarised form:— j Hours--Forty-four a week. Overtime to main workers, time and a half for first three hours, double time thereafter. Overtime to ail females 2s fid an hour. Wag es (n long detailed list was pre seated The wages quoted represent the range in the sections mentioned) — Bakehouse, second in charge £6 10s, assistant brakesman £4 lUs : cake depart - men, second in charge £5 ; chocolate department, second in charge of chocolate room £6 10s, head moulder £5; starch room, second in charge £6, employee working starch machine £4 los; females’ wages £3 10s a week; youths’ wages, youths under 17 years £2, 10 and under 20 £4 ; chocolate department (packing), beauty boxes 6d per dez. ilb boxes, rose boxes 4-d per doz. 11b boxes: wrapping chocolates 2d per lb; chocolate dipping. lemon and rasp--1 berry cocoa nuts 3d per lb, fondants ljd per lb, time allowed for cleaning up Is per day. Piecework—Any worker employed on piecework shall receive at least 10 per cent, each day more than such worker would receive if employed on weekly wages. Proportion—One boy or youth to each five adult \nales. No boy under 17 yearn of age shall 'be employed in or about the factory. Employment-—" Weekly. No deduction ; from wages except through time lost through the workers’ default. holidays—Fifteen days during life year; work on holidays and Sundays double time ; annual leave of ten days j on full pay on completion of each year of service. Mr Martin said that the workers had all along been working undei very unsatisfactory conditions, and ho asked that special consideration be given to conditions and wages. The union contended that the time had arrived when tho workers in the industry should be placed upon the same footing as regards hours as were workers in practicallv all other industries. It had been Droved that reasonable reduction of hours did not diminish output or effici - ency, but. with proper methods actually increased output. In Australia a commission had gone into the matter, and as a result practically all workers there were not doing more than fortyfour hours a week. There had been a marked change among employers in regard to this matter, and all over New Zealand the forty-four-hour week had been, or was being, adopted. Many of tho workers were employed near ovens where the temperature was high, and this was another factor which the Court should take into consideration in fixing hours. Having regard to the Court’s Gisborne announcement regarding the living wage, and regarding the workers in the five grades into wh’ch they were at present classified as unskilled workers (which he contended they were not) only the fifth grade workers were receiving a living wage. , The present rates were as follow (with

The award rates became t|ie maximum ! as well as the minimum- rates in the j industry, continued Mr Martin, and ■ one man who had been eighteen years with the firm, and had eleven depend- J ents, was receiving only the minimum I of £3 3.95. There was no doubt that the women workers in New Zealand were being underpaid. In the case of an agreement made by warehouse workers it had been conceded by the employers that a senior woman worker was entitled to £‘3 IQs. Mr Cooper: In an isolated dags. Mr Martin asked that the Court strike a flat rate, with a provision for a three months’ probationary period. It had been stated in- the Court that the Y.W.C.A. was being run on philanthropise lines, and provided board at as low a rate as possible—that rate being on the average 255. Unless wages sufficient to meet these rates were not paid, how were women and girls going to subsist ; Mr Scott: Do you suggest that every young girl should get enough to pay that board and have a little over? Mr Martin: Well, Mr Scott, they have got to exist! Air Scott: If that were paid every factory would have to close down'. His Honor said that the average young girl was living with her parents. It was an exception for a young girl to be thrown on her own resources and those who were on their own resources generally sought domestic employment. Mr F. Cooper, for the employers, said that there were special features about the industry to which the Gisborne pronouncement could not be applied. Whilst he admitted that when shorter hours were substituted for excessive hours greater efficiency resulted, he contended that in the industry under notice there was so much work done by machinery that the hours did not entail excessive fatigue, and reduction of hours would render much valuable machinery idle during an important part of its workable time, and seriously reduce the output. Outside competition was an important factor, and should receive due notice. He submitted that the workers’ wages were not below the Gisborne pronounce-

mient, because of the continuity of * employment. The Court in its Gis- ! borne pronouncement had regard to the 1 general labourer who had to make pro- ! \’ision for intermittency of employment. ! Ftxrther, the trade did not require men 3 of strong physique. It was light employment, and if a man was not physio- 3 ally strong it was very good employment for him at n reasonable wage. If the Court raised the wage ko as to at- 3 tract strong men, then weak men were going to he pushed out of employment. J As regards the classification, it would apply to ono factory in Christchurch, but the rest of the employers would j not understand it. The application for v the flat rat© seemed to be based upon Ithe necessity for the woman keeping a i husband and two children. He submit- -c

tc-rti that £2 a week, plus bonuses, was 2 what- the Court had laid down &s suffi- ' loient for a mature woman, and it h would not be in the interests of the i workers or of the industry to increase I it The country was overflowing with r importations, and this was having the t effect at the present time of causing t short-time in local factories which had t not- hoeji experienced tor years before. a

j A week!} employment clause was too * 1 tight, because it did not enable an j I employer to take workers on for a C j short period, and he had to cause un- j j employment. In one industry where j such n provision existed the employers | j were faced with the necessity of dis- j J missing their staffs or getting them to * agree among themselves to defaujt for j two or three days a week and thus re' j tain theii jobs. His Honor said that that method favoured an evasion. It would be better to apply to the Court for aft amendment on the award. Mr Martin said that Mr Cooper enjoyed. the fullest confidence of union secretaries, and, speaking personally, he would always be prepared to entertain any reasonable request by him tor temporary adjustment, feeling sure that Air Cooper would make the request only as the result of genuine necessity. Already in on© case some adjustment of eond’tions of workers under an award 4iad been agreed upon by employers and employed because of the necessity of the situation. His Honor said he was very glad to hoar that such good feeling existed on both sides, and that, perhaps, the effect of the hard times would be to draw them closer together. The Court , would always be ready to consider amendments to awards which the part’es agreed to ask for of the Court in view of special contingencies. < Christchurch was paying a higher wage in the industry than elsewhere ] in New Zealand, continued Air Cooper, c The oftly two awards outside Christ- < church were in Dunedin and Invercargill. The industry was one of the 1 first to suffer from economy by the 1 general public. j Robert J. Alacdougall, manager of Aulscbrook’a biscuit and confectionery i factory, gave evidence as to the state of the industry. He said that the fac- « lories throughout New Zealand were competing in price and quality. That . £□oo,ooo worth of imported confectionery and biscuits should into i New Zealand in one year was out of 5 all reason. His Honor : I t will be as big as our 1 beer bill soon! ( Other manufacturers gave evidence < in support of Air Cooper’s .contentions. Mr Cooper said it would be unfair to increase the wages in the industry f locally, as it would put it ai an unfair i disadvantage to other parts of the 1 South and North Island. He suggested 1 that ii some increase were held to be f necessary they should not be awarded c until uniformity could be secured * throughout New Zealand, or at least , t the? South Island. f. . The Court adjourned with the in ten- T »ion of visiting some of the factories v under notice to enable them to understand the conditions prevailing. Evi- * deuce was not called by the union in f view of this arrangement. t

hosms): — ~rade. £ G d -first . 3 19 0 Second . 4 4 0 Third . 4 6 e Fourth . 4 8 0 Fifth . 4 13 0