SATURDAY HALF-HOLIDAY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 46, Issue 14130, 31 May 1920, Page 5

SATURDAY HALF-HOLIDAY.

(To the Editor.) Sir,—ln Saturday \a issue of your paper 1 notice j|||ottfer; i,.'£ rom ‘‘Shop ■Girl,” wishing the Labour Party success in their endeavour to inaugurate the universal Saturday half-holiday. I was not at the meeting of the Labour -S Party-at which the matter was discuss-- • ed, bet frotn information available ab- . -ont town it is quite evident that . those who should be .most interested in the Saturday half-holiday eertainly do not want it. The : Labour Party will get the snub they welj deserve if they persist in their efforts, to bring about the Saturday half-holiday here. What au- . thority have the Labour Party for assuming that the shop assistants in Masterton want the Saturday, and I now '. ■ challenge them to prove that there is i . . any desire among the assistants to change their present half-holiday for « Saturday. How many shop assists are members of the Labour ParAt any meeting of the party I attended I cannot recollect having seen : any counter-jumpers there. I am credibly informed that within the last 12 months at least one large section of ■ counter-jumpers” unanimously .turned down a proposal to do away with the long night, and adopt Saturday af- ? '' ternoon for the half-holiday, and, judging from “information received,” they '. are not likely to change their minds—unless their employers order them to do so. Hot being in touch with the shop . assistants of your city, I cannot speak to them personally, but I take this opportunity of persuading them not to ■ -stand in their own light by trying to shorten business hours or adopting Saturday half-holiday, because, if the worker finds the shops shut when he can. . do his shopping, the natural result will be a reduction of business and the wa<*es of all shop assistants, or at least of those who have no say in the mat♦T'ter, will automatically be cut down in proportion to the reduction in business. Again advising the Labour.Par-. - ty to mind their own business, and not - -to meddle where they are not wante.d—*9?*' ZABEUCUB. May 31, 1920.