Claimed One Shilling; Get Penny Half-Penny

Chronicle (Levin), 12 July 1949, Page 6

Claimed One Shilling; Get Penny Half-Penny

Press AssociationJ

(Per

WELLINGTON, July 11. A further wage increase of l^d an hour for waterside workers, to bring them into line with the recerit wage pronouncement of tlie Court of Arbitra tion, has been granted by the chairruan of the Waterfront Industry Authority, Judge D. J. Dalgiish. The increase is retrospective to June 1. It follows the previous increase of 2^d an hour granted on Eebruary 9 and brings the watersiders ' hourly rate to 4s. Tliis ligure is a penny higher thamthe- standard skilled worker's rate laid down by the Court. It thus niaintains the penny margin over skilled workers • which was ' established for watersiders m June, 1940. The decision applies to all overtinie as well as ordinar / time. It does not apply at the port of Auckland because of the fecent order by the Minister of Labouiy Mr. McLagan, suspending commisison control at thht port. Judge Dalgiish has made a one-man decisiou in accordance with the powers conferred on him by regulations gazetted last week. The watersiders' claim was for a total increase of one shilling an hour. Judge Dalgiish records that by an interim decision of February 9, a risc of 21 d hourly was granted watersiders and by a further decision on March 29, a further increase was refused but coo siderawion of the claim was deferred until after the announcement of thw decision of the Court of Arbitration on applications for a "standard wage pronouncement then before it. The Court in its pronouncement, said Judge Dalgiish, granted an increase over the Oetober 1947 rate of 34d. hourly for unskilled workers and 4d hourly for skilled, making the unsKilled rate 3s 5d an hour and skilled 3s lld. •• "The question therefore arises whetlier the basic rate of pay of waterside workers should be furthei incieased by ld per hour (making- a total of 31d per hour) or by l^d pei hour (making a total of 4d per houri. In 1922 and in 1924 the Court of Aroitration prescribed, by relatiou to its basic rate for casual unskilled workevs, rate of wages which had regard to the casual nature of waterside workers' employment and which took into account the estimated average number of hours which waterside workers woiked. In later awards the rate of wages for waterside workers was fixed by agreement but there appears by 1935 to have- been a tendency to depart from ' the Court 's basis. "However that may be, the Court 's ( basis of lixing the rate of pay of waterside workers was- expressly departed from wlien the Waterfront Control Commision on June 6 1940 issued its main order dealing. with wages aud conditions of. employment of watersidrworkers. It is clear from its memorandum to that order, that the Waterfront Control Commision fixed wages at the ligure of 6d per hour in excess of the standard hourly. rate laid down by the Court for unskilled workers and ld per hour in excess of the standard hourly rate for skilled workers. At

this particular time the margin between the standard wage for skillel and the standard wage for unskilled workers, as prescribed by the Court of Arbitration, was 5d per hour. "It will be noted that in June 1940 the rate of waterside workers' wages was related to the rate for skilled workers as well as to the rate for unskilled workers. General orders made by the Court of Arbitration on August 9 1940 and on March 31 1942, were applicd to waterside workers by the Waterfront Control Commission. In the case of the second order, it was liecessarv owing to the fact that a worker might work for a number of different employers in any one week, to make an assessment of the value of^this second order aecordmg to the number of hours worlced. When the Court of Arbitration made its standard wage pronouncement on August 15 1947, fixing rates of wages to operate from Oetober 1 1947, the benefit of this pronounce-

ment was granted to waterside workers by the Waterfront Industry Commission. On the issue of this pronouncement by the Court of Arbitration, the margin between the wages of skilled workers and the wages of ' unskilled workers, which had altered slightly as a result of the Court 's general orders, became fixed at 5M per hour. With the appliaction of the Court 's pronouncement to the wages of waterside workers, the rate paid to waterside workets

became G?>d per hour above the standard rate for unskilled workers and re mained at ld per hour above the stand ard rate for skilled workers. "It wili thus be seen that since June 1940, prior to the' cominencement of the Economic Stabilisation Emetgency Regulations 1942, the relationship jf wages of waterside workers to the wages of workers under the jurisdietiou of the Court of Arbitration, had been stabilised at ld per liour above tlie standard rate laid down for skilled workers. The interim increase of 2AJ per hour granted by the Waterfront Industry Authority to waterside work ers as from Eebruary 14 1949, was granted for the purpose of maintaining this relative position in view of the increase of 2-ld per hour granted to carpenters under an award then recently issued by the Court of .Arbitration. This was made clear in a niemorandum to the decision of the authority oi March 29 last in relation to the union 's wage claim. In that niemorandum also it was pointed out that the Waterfront Industry Authority was not prepared to agree, while the Economic Stabilisation Emergency Regulations 1942 continue to operate, to a variatiou of the basis upon which waterside workers' rates of remuneration had been arrived at. ' ' After considering all the relevaut circumstauces, I have come to the con^ clusion that the wage rate of waterside workers must maintain its existing relationship with, the wage rate of skilled workers, that being the Velationship which has remained constant since before Deeember 15 1942, the date of the . commencement of tlie Economic Stabilisatoin Emergency Regulations 1942. I am of opinion that while tliose regulations remain in force in their present form, this basis of fixing - waterside workers' wages must remain unless a strong case is made out to showd.that new circumstauces have ariqen whieh make ! "a variatiou of the basis desirable. Therefore I decide that the basic rate of pay of waterside workers shall be increased by a further. Hd per hour with corresponding increases in overtime rates oi pay. • These . increases are to operate on and ffom June 1 1949.