DAIRY AWARD

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 306, 27 December 1937, Page 11

DAIRY AWARD

Increased Wages For Factory Employees SIX-DAY WEEK Hours Of Work In Busy Season Retained The first Dominion award for workers in the butter, cheese, casein, condensed milk and dried milk industry has been issued by the Arbitration Court. A six-day working week is provided, and for work done on Saturday afternoons. Sundays and holidays additional rates are payable. Wages have been increased and to some extent the hours fixed last year have been departed from. The hours of work in the busy season have been retained, but the period over u hich the longest spread of hours operates has been reduced.

The Dominion dairy dispute was heard at Auckland on November 18 and 19 before Mr. Justice O’Regan and Messrs. A. L. Monteith and W. Cecil Prime. The employers were represented by Mr. W. E. Anderson. Auckland, and Mr. J. Roberts, Wellington, appeared for the workers. The award, which will come into operation on January 3, 1938, and wili continue in force till March 31, 1939, applies to butter factories, cheese factories, packing-houses, milk-powder factories, condensed - milk factories, cream-bulking depots, casein creameries, casein-drying factories, and cheese-curing stations. In a note attached to the hours clause the Court states that the hours I set out shall operate provided that the I National Dairy Awards Committee. I represented by Mr. T. O. Bishop, a secretary, shall within a fortnight o January 3 fix for the various Indus trial districts throughout New Zealair the months of the year during which

n the 1938-39 or subsequent seasons the various sets of hours prescribec ■ shall be worked. The committee i* also required io advise the chief in spector of factories at Wellington th( i dates so fixed, and these dates are tc operate for the remaining portion ol the 1937-38 season. If the proprietors of any factory desire a variation oJ . these dates they are required to notify the union in the district concerned, and any variation agreed upon between the parties shall operate in respect of this factory, provided that (he periods of long and short weeks are not thereby exceeded. Hours of Work

The hours of work arc set out. as ' follows:—Butter factories: For four months of the year, 48 a week; for ' three months of the year, 44; and for live months, 40. Cheese factories: For live months, 52; for four months, 44; and for three months, 38. Packing houses: Where manufacturing is not done, 40 hours a week are provided. Milk powder factories; For four months, 48; for three months, 44; and for live months, 40. Condensed-milk factories: For four months, 48; for three months, 44; and for five months, 40. Cream-bulking depots: For four months, 48; for three months, 44; and for live months, 40. Casein creameries: For live months, 52; for four months, 44; and for three months, 38. Casein drying factories: Ordinary hours for each worker, 44. Cheese-curing stations: Ordinary hours for each worker, 44. In a note attached to the hours for both cheese factories and casein creameries, the Court stated that the hours provided are to be the maximum number to be worked, except where it is otherwise specified in the award. It will not be incumbent on any worker employed during the 52hours period to remain in any factory for a longer period in any one day than that necessarily required to perform and complete his ordinary day s work or duties to the satisfaction ol the manager of person in charge of the factory. Holidays With the exception of factories where not more than two workers are regularly employed, no worker is to be employed in any factory on more than six days in any one week. Where such a worker is employed he will be entitled to a whole holiday for every additional day on which he has been employed, or instead the employer may, in addition to the ordinary wages of the worker, pay him at the ordinary rate for every additional day on which he has been so employed.

Every worker, other than casual workers, employed in a butter or cheese factory and casein creameries for not less than eight months during the same season, and for the same employer, is to be given three weeks' holiday on full pay. Those employed in all other factories subject to the award are to be given two weeks' holiday on full pay. A holiday 01. proportionate length is to be given any worker who shall have worked less than eight months but not leso than two months. Such holidays ate to be taken during the period known as the "off” season. The season is understood to start cn August 15 in the North Island an:! September 1 in the South Island.

Work During Week-ends Except where special provision is made for an extension, any work done after 1 p.m. on a Saturday is to bo paid for at the rate of half-time in addition to the ordinary wages. When any worker employed in a factory where work is regularly performed on Sundays is actually employed on a Sunday, he is to be paid for the time worked at not less than half of his ordinary rate of pay in addition to his usual wages. Other workers shall be paid for Sunday work at the rate of not less than time and a half. Schedule of Wages Adhering to the principle of weekly wages, the Court has fixed the rates as follows: Buta-r Factories: -• < L‘> Where a manager and 15 hands or more are employed: First assistant, £5 14s a week; second assistant, £5 7s 6d; third assistant, .£4 19s (id; fourth assistant, £4 15s 6d; all other workers, £4 10s. (2) Where manager and 10 to 14 hands are employed: First assistant, £5 14s; second assistant, £5 7s 6d; third assistant, £4 19s 6d; ail other workers, £4 10s. (3) Where manager and six to nine hands arc employed: First assistant, £5 14s; second assistant, £5 7s 6d; all other workers, £4

( 10s. (4) Where manager and three to live hands are employed: First assistant, £5 14s; all other workers, £4 10s. (5) Where manager and one or two hands are employed: General hands, £4 10s. (6) An employee of a factory employed as a cream-grader shall be paid not less than the wages provided for a second assistant. Cheese Factories: (1) Where 10 vats or over are in use: First assistant, £5 14s; second assistant, £5 7s 6d, third assistant, £4 19s 6d; fourth assistant, £4 15s 6d; all other workers, £4 10s. (2) Where seven vats and over are in use: First assistant, £5 14s; second assistant, £5 7s 6d; third assistant, £4 19s 6d; all other workers, £4 10s. (3) Where four to six vats are in use: First assistant, £5 10s 6d; second assistant, £5 2s 6d; all other | workers. £4 10s. (4) Where two or three vats are in use: First Assistant, £5 7s 6d; all other workers, £4 10s. (5) Where one vat is in use: General hands, £4 10s. Off-season Conditions During the off-season workers then employed in cheese factories are to receive the same rates of wages as they receivd immediately before the factory closed down. Where seven vats or more were being used and where third or fourth assistants were required, the services of the third or fourth assistant could be dispensed with as the vats "went off” or were not required, but this would not affect the rating of the first and second assistants. Where three or more vats were in use there would be employed one man to each standard vat of 900 gallons, provided that when seven or more vats were employed an extra man should be employed for three months during the flush of the season and that where vats of more than 900 gallons were used additional labour should be provided. Where a whey buttermaker was substantially employed as such he should receive the wages provided for the first assistant in the factory.

: Packing Houses.—(l) Where two to ’ six workers are employed: Leading hand, £4 13s; all other adult male workers, £4 10s. (2) Where only one adult male is employed, £4 13s. (3) , In packing houses youths may be I employed in the proportion of one > youth to each adult worker em- ■ ployed. Any number of females may ! be employed for the sole purpose of' i packing butter. Milk Powder Factories. In fac- ; tories with two units or less there are to be a first and a second assistant; for each unit above two an extra assistant is to be employed: First assistant, £5 14s; second assistant, £5 7s 6d; third assistant, £4 19s 6d; fourth assistant, £4 15s 6d; pumpman, where not employed and classified as first, second or third assistant, £4 19s 6d; miik grader, where not employed and classified as first, second or third assistant, £4 19s 6d; separator man,

where not employed and classified as first, second or third assistant, £4 19s 6d. Milk powder grades: Two-unit plant, £4 19s 6d; three-unit plant, £5 2s; four-unit plant, £5 4s 6d; all other workers, £4 10s. Condensed Milk Industry Condensed Milk Factories. First assistant, 15 14s; second assistant, £5 7s 6d; third assistant, £4 19s 6d; fourth assistant, £4 15s 6d; vacuum pan operator, where not employed and classified as first, second or third assistant, £4 19s 6d; milk grader, where not employed and classified as a first, second or third assistant, £4 19s 6d; separator man, where not emplayed and classified as a first, second or third assistant, £4 19s 6d; all other I workers. £ 1 10s.

Cream Bulking Depots Man in charge, £5 ss; all other workers, £4 10s. Casein Creameries.—Man in charge, where daily average supply of fresh milk during December does not exceed 1200 gallons, £4 17s; over 120 and up to 2000 gallons, without assistance, 15 9s 6d; with assistance, £4 17s 6d; over 2000 and up to 2500 gallons, £5 0s 64; over 2500 and up to 3000 gallons, £5 3s 6d; over 3000 and up to 3500 gallons, £5 6s 64; over 3500 and up to 4000 gallons, £5 9s 6d; over 4000 and up to 4500 gallons, £6 12s 6d; over 1 4500 and up to 5000 gallons, £5 15s 6d. Over 5000 the rate may be agreed upon between the company and the union. If a man in charge is required to provide his own house, he is to be paid an additional 12s 6d a week. All other workers not specilied are to be paid £1 10s.

Casein Drying Factories. — In factories of a capacity of 1100 tons or over: First assistant, £5 14s; second assistant, £5 7s 6d; third assistant, £4 19s 6d; all other workers, £4 10s. In factories of a capacity of less than 1100 tons: First assistant, £5 14s; second assistant, £5 7s 6d; all other workers, £4 10s. Men attending ovens in non-automatic plants are to be paid 4s a week extra. Cheese Curing Stations. General hands, £4 10s. Engine-drivers.— First class stationary ticket, £5 14s; second class, £5 8s 6d; firemen, £4 10s. Motor and horsedrivers: To be governed by their own award, except that their hours are to be those for butter factories so long as their work is restricted to deliveries to and from the factories in conjunction with which they are employed. Launch-drivers: Those in charge, £4 17s 6d.

Youths and Females Youths.—Youths may be employed at not less than the following rates of wages: From 15 to 154 years of age, £1; 154 to 16, £1 ss; 16 to 164, £1 10s; 16i to 17, £1 15s; 17 to 174, £2; 174 to 18, £2 ss; 18 to 19, £2 12s 6d; 19 io 21), £3; (hereafter at the rates prescribe.!. for adults. Females.- Females may he employed at not less than the following rates: Under 19 years ot age, £1 7s 6d; 19 and over, £2 2s 6d. Engineers, canister makers, metal workers’ assistants and tinsmiths are to work the weekly hours and receive the wages and overtime rates prescribed by the respective awards covi ering such workers. Any worker employed for three days or more as a substitute for another worker receiving a higher rate of pay is to be paid the higher rate while he is so employed, provided that when a worke;' is employed as a relieving I manager the rale of wages in his case shall, be arranged with the company. Shift Work Kates Workers whose ordinary work is performed in two periods, with a break of more than two hours, are to be paid 2s a week extra; those wdio.se ordinary work is performed in shifts where day, afternoon and night shifts are worked in rotation are to be paid 3s a week extra; those who work on

afternoon shifts, which are shifts finishing after 10 p.m., are to be paid 2s a week extra on such shifts; and those required to work as relieving men under such conditions are to be paid 6d extra for each shift worked. I The ordinary overtime rate provided is time and a half for the lirst four hours and double time thereafter. In the case of a breakdown or similar emergency, the weekly hours may be exceeded up to five hours a week in cheese factories and four in any other factory, and while the excess hours are not to be regarded as overtime, they are to be paid for at the .rate of 2s an hour. Employees pulling presses after their ordinary work is finished are to be paid 6d a press each week, in addition to their wages.

Casual Labour Casual labour is defined as employment oi less duration than a week and payment is provided lor at 2s 4d an hour for workers taking the place of those receiving the minimum wage. No worker is to be required to work more than live hours continuously without a meal and mealtime is to be not less than half an hour. In the case of workers required to work before 6.30 a.m. or after 6 p.m., half an hour is to be allowed for a meal without deduction. Wages are to be paid not later than four days after the completion of each fortnight. Other machinery clauses are provided, including one that no piece-work is to be permitted, except in the packingroom.

MEMORANDUM Ob’ COURT WELLINGTON, Dec. 23. Conditions of work and wages in the dairy industry are fixed in the New Zealand dairy factory employees' award issued by the Court of Arbitration to-day. The award applies to butter factories, cheese factories, packing houses, milk powder factories, condensed milk factories, cream bulking depots, casein creameries, casein drying factories, and cheese curing stations, and is to come into force on January 3 next and last until March 31, 1939.

“In this, the first Dominion dispute in the industry, practically the whole of the matters to be dealt with were unsettled, and, despite two meetings of the Conciliation Council, were referred to the Court,” said a memorandum of the Court, attached to the award. “The union submitted extraordinarily detailed claims, including proposals arfecting several branches of the industry not heretofore covered, and the wide divergence of views between the parties made the task of the Court more than usually diilicult.

“As in most disputes, the questions of greatest moment were those relating to hours of work and wages, but the framing of classifications for those branches of the industry not hitherto covered required very careful consideration.

“In dealing with the last-mentioned matter the Court has endeavoured to keep the classifications as simple as possible without doing injustice to any of the workers, and has therefore not followed the claims in detail. “As to hours of work, white the Court desires generally to auhere to previous decisions unless it is shown that changes have taken place in lhe industry,*it has been impressed by the evidence given on this occasion, and feels justified in departing to some extent from the hours fixed last year. The hours of work in the busy season have been retained, but the period over which the longest spread of hours shall operate has been reduced to a period which it is thought will

conform generally to the busiest months of the season. Longer Hours: Higher Mages “With regard to wages, the Court has taken into consideration the fad that these workers work considerably longer hours than most other factory workers, and has granted increases accordingly. While the employment generally has been reduced to six-day week in lieu of the seven days worked prior to the passing of the Factor ies Amendment Act, 1936, and additional rates are payable for Saturday afternoons, Sundays, and holidays, the fact that these workers have generally to work on these days has induced the Court, to continue the provisions for annual holidays which were previously in force. The remaining matters in dispute have been settled on the lines of previous awards. "Mr. A. L. Monteith (employees’ representative) wishes to say that he is not in agreement with a majority of the Court as to the hours of work fixed for cheese factories, nor as to the date of the coming into force of the award, which date he thinks should be December 1, 1937/’