BOROUGH WORKERS

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XXV, Issue 7722, 14 July 1928, Page 2

BOROUGH WORKERS

SEEK NEW INDUSTRIAL AWARD CONFERENCE OF PARTIES COUNCIL’S RECOMMENDATIONS The industrial agreement between the Waihi Borough Council and the Waihi Borough Labourers’ Union having recently expired a conference was held between the representatives of the employees (Messrs J. Gracey, A. Sparks and F. Inglis) and the Finance Committee, when proposals were submitted on behalf of the union for the consideration of the council in preparing a new award. After dealing with same the committee recommended at Thursday night’s meeting of the council that the points raised for the workers be dealt with as under and, if approved by the union, be incorporated in the new agreement: COMMITTEE’S REPORT (a)Tar Money: That clause 7 of the present arrangement be amended by adding after the words “Is fid per day” the words “or part of a day.” (b) Trucker at Crusher: That the man employed trucking stone from the crusher dump to the crusher be paid at the rate of 2s 3d per hour. (c) Motor Lorry Drivers: That clause 2 of the present agreement be amended by deleting all that portion referring to lorry drivers and the Dominion Drivers’ Award, and a clause be inserted as follows in lieu thereof: “That drivers of motor lorries be paid at the rate of £4 12s per week of 44 hours with overtime 1 as laid down in clause 3 of this agreement, and no deductions shall be made from such wages for any cause save for time lost through the workers’ own fault or sickness. In all other respects the lorry drivers shall be bound in terms of this agreement, and in addition the employer shall have the right to put the drivers to any other class of work when not actually employed as drivers.

(d) Anzac Day: Except as already provided in clause 3 of the present agreement, Anzac Day be not a paid holiday. THE DISCUSSION The adoption of the report having been moved by the Mayor (Mr W. M. Wallnutt), Cr. A. E. Robinson submitted an amendment to clause (b) by adding the words, “that the man shovelling into the lorry at the clump bo also paid 2s 3d per hour.” He asked why there should be a differentation in the pay for this class of work. Cr. J. Lockington held that if the man filling the trucks was worth 2s 3d per hour, surely the other man was worth the same amount.

The Mayor contended that the council should not go beyond what the union had asked for. It was no concern of theirs to consider other than those mentioned by the union representatives. Cr. Robinson: It is a case of ‘‘ask and ye shall receive” then. Tile amendment was then put and was lost on a show of hands. Cr. Morgan followed by moving that the increase of 3d be not granted, but the amendment lapsed for want of a seconder and the commit-: tee’s recommendations were adopted.