NEW AGREEMENT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1680, 21 February 1913, Page 9

NEW AGREEMENT.

| MATCH FACTORY WORKERS. i .A fresh avrnrd, embodying the complete agreement arrived at between tho parties, is to regulate conditions at the; Wellington match factory, at Newtown', for three years, ■ commencing on March 1. During'the past. three weeks informal conferences between representatives of the. company and the union, with- Mr. P. Hally (Conciliation Commissioner) negotiating, have been held. These contercnces ■ havo succeeded _in settling all ; matters with the exception of preference. 1 . On Wednesday a formal conciliation council (Mr,Hally presiding) sat to deal officially with' the dispute, and as a result a full, settlement was arrived at. In- the the differences between' the parties referred to wages aiid preference only. Members reported that; so far as prevail-, ing hours of- labour, holidays, and sanitary .arrangements of the factory were concerned nothing more ■ was to be deEired. For more than a year past no phosphorus has been used .at'the factory, and the wor'ce."s and department officiala havo oommonted favourably on tho up- ■ to-date hygienic methods obtaining at tho factory. • In the matter of wages, especially piece work, wag;s have obtained for some years 'past. The'new agreement ensures a continuation of -'lie present piece-worK rates of pay, and prevents the introduction of, ' time" work in any department Where piece work pay at present is in force. For workers on "time work" a slight increase has been obtained by the union. • The preferenoe clause agreed on provides for the employment of r.on-unionists for a period of thee weeks, and allows the union to'therwifter request such nonunionists to becomp .and to remain meni- * bers of the -iiniori. The clause is condion .tho,bunion keeping an "open door." All the terras aro agreed to conditionally on the recommendation of the assessors''finally' signed yesterday being , made an award of the Arbitration Court.. At present, there are, roughly, 80 girls : 'employed ct tbe factory, but when tho - new .conditions are fixed and when the : .factory is fully, staffed, thero ivill bo prob- : ably -100 workers affected by the new '• award. ". ■ ' - ] Formal application to have the terms ! of the recmnmendations of tlf'o Concilia- ' tion Council embodied in an award will j bo made at the next sitting of the Court 1 in March next. ' • ■ - i