HOUSEWIVES AND FIVE-DAY WEEK

Chronicle (Levin), 28 September 1946, Page 4

HOUSEWIVES AND FIVE-DAY WEEK

-Press As&iciation

Bv Telearavh-

WELLINGTON, Sept. 27. Tke operation of the 40-hour five: day week, with consequential elosing of vetail food shops 011 Saturday mornings, was causing grave and serious widespread inconvTenience to the people in general and the housewives in particular, declared Doris Watters and five other residents of Remuera, in a petition presented to the House of Representatives by Mr. R. M. Algie (Remuera) this morning. The petitioners said that restrictions upon trading conditions imposed under the necessities of war were readilv accepted by the people as part of the sacrifice neeessarily involved in and for the suecessful eonduct of hostilities. However, the eontinued existence of trading restrictions, especially those compelliijg Saturday morning elosing of retail food shops, caused a measure of liardship and was liot compensated for by the provisiou of extended hours 011 Eriday evenings. "The growing tendenev towards the restriction of shopping facilities is prejudicial to the legitimate interests of consumers as it withdraws from their reaeh a service they desire and should fairly be able to get and to that extent it prejudices and reduces the standard of iiving of a very eonsiderable number of people in this Dominion," declared the petitioners, who eonsequently aslced the House to sympathetically consider the just claims of Avonien in general and the employed persons in particular for the provision of better shopping facilities on fSaturday mornings. The petitioners asked that the existing legislation be amended as might be found necessary to give elfect to this claim,. and particularly that the existing law should be amended so that all persous desiriug to do «o could do so as far as the retail foodsupplying shops were concerued.