SHOPS ACT AMENDMENT.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17420, 3 April 1922, Page 12

SHOPS ACT AMENDMENT.

EFFECT ON SODA FOUNTAINS. . Strong protest .against; the amendment to the Shops and Offices Act passed last session, as it affects sodafountain businesses was mude last week at a meeting of Auckland sodafountain proprietors. Mr P. C Ansell presided ove? an attendance of 21. The chairman said that clause 30 of the new Act provided that there must be one entrance for the restaurant and another for any other class of business, such as the sale of confectionery, fruit, or soft drinks. It was almost impossible for the majority of the businesses to effect these alterations. The finishing time for employment of female workers was also reduced from 10.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. The Auckland res-taurant-keepers were supporting the soda-fountain proprietors in their protest and the Employers' Association was seeking an interpretation of the, new Act before taking action. Mr F. N. Bartrf.m, M.P., said it was largely a matter of interpretation. After discussion it was resolved to telegraph to the Minister of Labour, the Hon. G. J. Anderson, emphatically protesting against "the unfair operation of clause 30 as inimical to the interests of employers, employees, and the general public." The motion affirmed that if the proprietors were compelled to obey the clause as interpreted by the Labour Department, they would be faced either with immediate expenditure, involving in many cases hundreds of pounds, or, as an alternative, they would be compelled to close. Some would close altogether, and the majority would reduce their staffs by half and cut out evening trade, which was most popular with the public. The motion concluded with an expression of trust that the Government would reconsider the matter before putting into operation "a drastic measure so fraught with dire consequences at this time of stress and unemployment."