LAW REPORTS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1554, 25 September 1912, Page 4

LAW REPORTS.

HOURS & WAGES. (Before Arbitration Court.) LETTERPRESS MACHINISTS. AND WHAT THEY ASK. A Dominion award is being sought by the New Zealand Lithographic and Letter Press Machinists' Industrial Association of Workers and evidence in the dispute was heard in the Court of Arbitration, yesterday, the districts concerned being Wellington, Auckland, Canterbury, and Otago. Thy Court comprised Mr. Justice Sim, Mr. Win. Scott (employers' lopresentative), and Mr. if A. M'Cullough (employees' representative). Mr. Arthur Rosser, of- Auckland, appeared for the federated unions and associated with him were Mr. J. W. Davidson, of Christchurch, president of tho Federation, and Mr. F. Ellis, of Christchurch, secretary of the Federation. Mr. W; Pi'yor, secretary of the Employers' Association, appeared for the employers, and with him were Mr. G. Fenwick. of Dunedin, and Mr. X. M'Eobie,.of AAaihi. Demands Lithographic and Letterpress Section, In their demands-the unions seek a ithour week, the work to be done between S a.m. and 5 p.m. on five days a week, and between 8 a.m. and noon on the statutory half-holiday. For - machinists engaged on night work it, is stipulated that tho week's wo'rk shall not exceed 40 hours. Only two classes of worker are named by the unions—journeymen and apprentice—and it is-asked that the Court should lay down tho principle of one man one machine in all offices, white "feeders," who may bo employed to assist in cleaning the machine, etc., aro not to work in the absence of the machinist. A minimum wngo of-Jlll J.(K per week is asked for journeymen. . ' Tho clauses Teloltng to apprentices stipulate that "all shall be legally indentured, while other clauses in tho demands relate to overtime, holidays, preference, and uudcr-ratc workers. ■Rotary Machinists' Section. The demands in the rotary machinists' section ore practically the same as regards hours of labour and minor details. Different wages aro sought, however, according to the position held by the workers, viz., hend machinist (where no engineer is employed) £j per week; head machinist (under other conditions) £i 10s. per week; brake hands, «E3 15s. per week; second assistants...£.l 10s. per week; and machine room assistants, J."J ss. per week. Counter-Proposals.

Counter-proposals were submitted by, tho employers, who objected to the inclusion of rotary machinists in a letterpress machinists' award. It wag suggested by the employers that the week's work should consist of 18 hours, day hands to bo employed between 8 a.m. and H p.m. on five days and 8 a.m. and noon on the half-holiday and night hands to work 8 hours in twenty-four for 6 days of tho week according to requirements. Minimum rates of- pay suggested for the four chief centres are Is. .ljd. per hour.' or .£2 15s. per w:eek, and in all other places Is. per hour or J3-ss.' per N week, Special clauses are suggested, in ward to "feeders," holidays, overtime, undcr-rato workers, apprentices, preference, etc. At the commencement of the hearing, Mr. I'ryor remarked that it. was only fair to say that the employers objected to tho lithographic section being included in tho letterpress machinists' award. Ho ndded that they also objected to tho rotary machinists' section being included (as stated in th« counter-proposals). Mr. Rbsssr in a.lengthy opening said that in New Zealand the machinists had long been regarded as the Cinderella of tho printing trade. It was not so in other countries, where they .were regarded as the equal and in some cases were bettor paid than the compositor?. The unions wore now. asking to he placed in tho same plane as" the compositors, and to ho.vo their conditipns'of work improved accordingly. Hearing the dispute occupied until close 6n's p.m..-The Court - reserved decision.

: TIMBER YARDS AND SAWMILLS. THE NEW AWARD FILED. The award of the Court of Arbitration was filed yesterday in the dispute between the Wellington timber yards and sawmills workers and tlie employers. On October 1-t next the award comes into force, and continues until Septenibsr 21, 15)13. The points in.which the new award differs from tho old one is .explained by the Court's memorandum, reading ns follows: —'"This award is based, for the most part, on the award made in 1907. . . . The principal alterations ars these:— (1) The wages of yard labourers liavo been increased from Is. to Is. Id. per hour, and of casual labourers from Is; Id. to Is.'l'd. per hour. (2) Tho wages of a fireman or driver without a certificate have been increased.from Bs. to Bs. Gd. per doy. (3) Engine-drivers arc to be paid for getting up steam outside the ordinary working hours. \i) Another preference clause has been substituted-for'that contained iu tho last award. "The union invited the Court to adopt a fresh classification of the workers covered by the. award, but at the hearing no iltteniot: was made to support this new classification'by argument of any kind, eleven to explain its meaning. The classification in the 'last award was agreed to by the parties themselves, and should not be altered without some good reason."