KING’S BIRTHDAY

Waipawa Mail, Volume LXVI, Issue 33, 1 December 1937, Page 3

KING’S BIRTHDAY

VALIDATING LEGISLATION FOR CHANGE OF DATE. WELLINGTON, This day. The anomalous position whereby certain employers might have been required to pay special holiday rates to their employees for work done on December 13th, the actual date of the King’s Birthday, is to be rectified by early legislation, according to a statement made in an interview last evening by the Prime Minister, Bt. Hon. M. J. Savage. The difficulty has arisen from the fact that it has been decided practically throughout the British Empire to observe the King’s Birthday as a holiday on June 9th, instead of on the actual date, which is regarded as being 1 too close to the period of exceptional business activity immediately preceding Christmas. In notifying the change some time before June 9th, the Government indicated that the date for the holiday observance would be fixed by law. “We have investigated the position,” said the Prime Minister last evening, “and we find that the necessity for validating legislation has been overlooked. However, that will be rectified, and the necessary legislation will be introduced and passed before Parliament adjourns for the Christmas recess. As we propose to finish the first part of the session not later than December 10th, there can be no question of a difficulty regarding dates. ’ ’