SHEARERS' DISPUTE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 811, 7 May 1910, Page 3

SHEARERS' DISPUTE.

TERMS OF PROPOSED AWARD. have e aM n f ktioll CoUnoU "horUy it 6 ™? Sh6ar6rS ' dis P nte ™™ J,~ U ' s - Bjder, William Ws H H - f Nevins - ° f Mutartm, hZ JT' Di Eobert id burn and Alexander Simpson, of HunterJames Q. Wilson of Bulls on the one hand, and the Wellington on the other hand. with tfc n""*?** 0 ' l > dispute, er (Mr p n iP°. nclll ation CommissionCWbel! *£^ y) Wer6: -Hessrs. Ewen S^'nr Tl A - N6 7 ins - sheepowner. of R lS^ ast6rto %, ail<l G «>™<> C. Wheeler, h a f P^ n lL ot J WaitllJla W **- No date t fw ""> hMri « of mitted 6< S 6d f t {? e °n f °° n !?«ons. to be subZaTh,w *n 6 • Council of Conciliation, Sen? W? fo^OH ™f Proposals for embody h™'fS-li m Tfl<J employer shall ™u. Sh <! <™re shall shear with all reaS,»w, 6pa t c - h ihe Ehee P the employer (or his agent) requires him to snear, in good time, in a workmanlike manner, and to the satisfaction of the employer The number to be shorn- shall Do agreed upon approximately between tie employer and the shearers before the commencement of the shearing. The employer having stated, at the beginning of snearrag, the' maximum number of shearers to be employed, shall be at liberty > r„ faT du , rin S scaring to employ up to that number. -.i? e } B ? KT shall be absent from work witnout leave, except on proper and reasonable grounds, nor shall he bring any intoxicants on to the premises. The hours of shearing shall be from 5 a.m. •it'*' 1 !"*' or from 5 - 30 a - m - t0'5.30 p.m., with intervals for meals and smoking, as ,H r~, mntua Hy agreed upon between tie shed manager and the shearers' representative. Shearing shall stop at i p.m. on ■ Saturdays, except in the case when 48 hoars' and 20 minutes' work snail ,have been done before, noon, in which case work may be stopped then. When shearing wet ewes, the shed manager may alter the intervals for smoka ?° extend the honrs to the extent of nalf-an-hour, in ordor to complete the out-out.

The rate of wages for -shearing. sheep, by machine or by hand, shall be not' less than 17s. Gd. per hundred, with rations. In cases where shearers find themselves in rations, this rate shall be increased by 2s. Bd. per hundred. The rate for stud sheep shall be settled by agreement between the employer and the shearers employed to do the work. The rata for shearing lambs shall be 2s. 6d. per hundred less. The rate, for shearing hogget rams shall be rate-and-a-h'alf, and, for other rams, double ordinary rates. Once in each week, the day having been fixed at the beginning of shearing, the employer shall, on request, pay to shearers any sums not exceeding 75 per cent, of the net amount then due. The money may be paid by order or by cheque (exchange added). All sheep shorn shall be paid for in. full at the end of the shear-

ing. ,If a shearer's employment shall have terminated before the finish of shearing, owing to illness or accident, or through illnes9 in his family, or other similar or urgent cause, he shall be paid in full for all sheep he shall have shorn; and if his employment shall be terminated by death before' the finish of the. shearing, his legal personal representatives shall be entitled to claim and receive any moneys that may be due to him.' A representative shall be elected by the shearers, and he, and the person in charge of the shed, shall, as far as possible, settle all-disputes in connection with tho shearing. No shearer shall bo bound to shear any cancored slieop. No shearer shall enter a catching pen after.

the bell rings: All sheen shall bo taken carefully from the catching pen, and no sheep shall be legged out, unless with the. permission of the person in charge of the shed, but no shearer shall be compelled to carry sheep out of a pen. No shearer shall kick or ill-treat any sheep. If a shearer turns out a sheep badly out or insufficiently tarred, he shall at once sew and tar the wounds in'his pen, or otherwise treat and dress the sheep as directed by the person in charge of the shed, but no shearer shall be Tequired to tar his sheep in other cases. When a sheep is seriously cut or otherwise injured, the shearer shall immediately report the fact to the person in ohargo of the Bhed. In the event of any shearer, either.' through carelessness or , neglect, damaging sheep or doing bad work, the man in charge of the shed shall have the right to reswict the hourly tally of any such shearer, or. he may instantly dismiss him.. In the event of a dispute arising as to wet sheep, the shed manager, may take a vote by ballot, the persons entitled to,vote being the shearers, the shed manager, and' the wool-classer, the majority to rule. In the event of-a tie, the shed manager-shall have a casting vote as well as a deliberative vote.

The employer shall find free grazing, if required, for one liorse for each shearer. The employer shall find, free of cost,'one grindstone at least, for every six shearers, or fraction of six. In sheds where machines are used, the employer shall find the necessary machinery and oil, and the shearers shall pay for. combs and cutters'at cost price.' Where'rations are to -be provided by the employer, sufficient food of good quality 6hairbe sup : plied to the men, and shall inolude jam,' and not less than lib. of butter per week for each shearer, these provisions to apply also when the sheepowner engages a contract cook. A room shall be 'sufficiently lighted each evening until 9 o'clock. No discrimination shall 'be made by employers between members of the; union and non-unionists. Any shearer engaging himself to more than one employer at a time, or who engage* himself arid does not answer the■• roll-call, shall be deemed, to have. committed a breach of the conditions, and shall be liable accordingly. None of these conditions shall be deemed to apply to the members of any employer's family, who may be employed by'him to shear his own sheep. The union 6hall do all in its power to prevent any strike by any of the workers, affected by these conditions, and, if any strike shall occur in which any members of the union shall take part, the strike shall be sufficient evidence . that the union has committed a breach of its duty under these conditions. When a strike occurs, all!the previous clauses of the conditions shall be suspended, and, in lieu thereof, the following provision shall come into force, and shall. operate until a further order of the Court shall be given: "The hours of work, wages, arid other ' conditions of work for all workers coming within the scope of these conditions, shall be fixed by agreement between each employer and the individual workers employed by him." The Court shall reserve leave, to any party bound by these conditions, to apply to the Court for. an order under the strike clause, declaring that a strike has taken place, or, after a strike, bringing the foregoing clauses of the. conditions into force again. In the opinion of the applicants, a period of three years is not a sufficient term for the award.