ARBITRATION COURT.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 763, 11 March 1910, Page 7

ARBITRATION COURT.

:■ ■':'■: ::--■'■'.- »■■■'--"---■■■ ■■; : '.. FLAXWOEKERS' DISPUTE;. : '.'■ 'Br .■ TeleßrabU:—i'ress Association;! .;'■". .. Palmofiiori, March 10. .The Arbitration Court sat at Palmefstbn - North tb-'day; the fcase. being the 1 hearing of the Manawatu flax dispute; A quantity of evidence was taken. ; ■'.. . Acting for the employers, .Sir": "W. Pryor said that,- While the proposals of the last award of 1907 we're the employers'. ow : n proposals, yet the conditions of 1907 were so totally different to those of to-day that it meant how -that; if : the prese'ftf award remained in force, the flax industry in. the'AVellirigtoii. district would be afc solutely ruined. Many .nri'ills : had already closed ilbwnj'ahd others were : only just hanging oh: The , position' .was .unfortunate for the workers as well as for tlii employers. : ; ' . The proposals of the employers wefeV briefly:—Hours of labour, forty-eight hours per week; not more than 10 hours per day withdtit payment of overtiUie; overtime, time and a quarter;. exempr tibns, breakdown of machinery j special emergency holidays. New Year's. Dayj Good Friday,. Christmas Bay, Boxing Day; Sundays, double th'iie; special con. ditioris, paddockers niid fibre carters. . Wages" and rates of pay:—Feeders, Is. per lidur; bench loaders, 1 lOJfl.;" washerv ldld.| paddockers, Is.; assistant paddock, cfs,lljd.j softer - ?, .10111.;. shakers, lOd.'i Hankers, lOd.;'. i-ttuscabouts, lOd.; .vegeta-' tioii man,' 10d.: labour not otherwise specified, IOJd.; 'driver'?, iinc horse, ,£2.25. per week;, two or 1 more horses, '£&. 6s.'; stripper keeper, 2s. (Id. -par - .day; extra piecework rilnl pnddockihg, 20s. aiid 225. Cd. per ton; scutching, 20s. per ton; cub ting flax, as per agreement. ; Payment, of wagesj sainc as at present,: with provision for three days'.wages' to be kept in hand'; board for worker, sixteen shillings per week; '-smoking provisions,. same .as at present, with proviso re safety matches; under-rate workers, usual . clause,, with application to liispector of' Factories ; Is; ner toil to be paid .to scutchers for kecping "tow-hole" clear; exemption, same as present.'. Award legislation "affecting awards:— Court to reserve '■ power to, caucel nil; w any portion of award, or term of award three years after consultation. • His Honour announced that:the Court thought it desirable that the parties should decide on n sliding scale of wiiges;' They recommended ' imt a conference'between the parties-bb held to see if .sbiuo agreement could not be arrived at on thse lines, a'hdi meanwhile, had decided to.postpone making an award: Both Mr. Pryof and Mr. Dalhousie annbuhcod their willingness to arrange, such a conference. ' The Court then adjourned.