COOKS AND WAITERS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1005, 21 December 1910, Page 6

COOKS AND WAITERS.

, THE ANNUAL CON"FERENCE. .The conference' of tho New Zealand Hotel and Restaurant Employees' Federation resumed yesterday, Mr. S." Lang presiding. The morning was occupied in drafting a uniform set of proposal,? for a restaurant award to be ttraght in the four centres. It was resolved to ask that a maximum week of 60 hours should be fixed for n:ale workers and 52 for females, and that a slight increase of wages be asked as compared with the expired Wellington award.

The Dunedin Union was instructed to file a dispute covering ,the licensed hotels and a secondary dispute covering employees in the private hotels, restaurants, and tea-rooms of that city.

A resolution wis also'passed instructing the Wellington Union to proceed immediately with its case for it fresh award in the restaurant industry;

The question .of obtaining Arbitration Court regulation for employees in country districts was considered and it was decided that when satisfactory conditions had been obtained in Auckland, Wellington, Christchureh, and Dunedin, a start should' lie made with the organisation of workers in the provincial towns of the Wellington .district. The operation of the Shops and Offices Act and the possibility of-its non-observ-ance in the country districts, was next considered. Section 7, over which there has been much controversy- : during its -passage through tho House, was characterised by delegates as offering loopholes for evading the spirit, of the Act. It was decided that union secretaries in the four centres should insist upon the enforcement of. tho Act in tho country, and that; 1 they sln'uld make special occasional visits to tho country so as to note the position of employees under tho Act. It was further resolved that the Labour Department should be notified of any alleged breaches-of the Act, and-that the incoming executive be' instructed to write tho Department, asking 'that 'periodical visits should bo inado by its inspectors to the country towns. In- the matter of a separate federation fund, it was resolved that for a start tho sum of .£5 should bo contributed to tho fund by each affiliated union, and that hereafter five per cent of the total yearly contributions in each union should be allocated to the federation fund. For the incoming term the Auckland .Union will Iks the executive for the Do"minion. Mr. T. Long and his officers will form an executive. Mr. Carey was thanked for services Tendered to tho federation.