HOTEL STAFFS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2116, 6 April 1914, Page 6

HOTEL STAFFS.

TERMS OF THE NEW AWARD. ' THE SIX DAYS WEEK. SMALL INCREASES IN WAGES. ■ J }, s ! x i ay "? ek for all Wellington hotel brokers is the chief feature of the Wellington district award which was hied by tho Arbitration Court on Saturday. The Court iias fixed tho weekly rates of pay as follow Kitchen.— VV here five or more hands are-employed: Chef, £4 10s.; second, £2 155.; third. ~ 10s.: others, £1 7s. Cd. Whero four hands: Chef, £4; second, £2 55.; others, £J 7s. 6d. Three hands: Chef, £3 10s. ■ second, £2; others, £1 7s. Gd. Two hands: Chef, £2; second, £1 10s. Olio hand: Man cook, £2; woman cook, £1 10s. A kitchen hand who attends to tho boiler shall get os. extra per week, i I? 011 olU P!°y e d. in kitchen or scullery shall bo paid three-quarters of men's wages, and not less than £1 2s. 6d. per weoli. Dining-room.—Waiters, £1 12s. (xl. j waitresses, £1 2s. Gd. Housemaids, lfs., 6d. Pantry.—\\ hero more than ono man is employed: First hand, £1 10s.; others, £1 7s. 6d. Where one liand only: Men, £1 7s. Gd.; women, £1. Porters: Day, £1 7s. Gd.; night, £1 10s. Bar haiids.—Men, £2 55.; women, £1 10s.. Billiard-markers.—£l 10s. Laundresses.—£l ss. General hands. —£1 7s. 6d. Lift boys and buttons aro not general hands. Waitress may bo employed on probation for twelvo months (not more), and waitresses for six months in tho proportion of ono to three fully-paid hands. Tho pay of probationers shall bo: Men, first six months, 15s. per week; second six months, £1. Women, 10s. per week. After the probation period those workers shall be paid tho .minimum wago. Where board is not provided, workers shall receivo 15s. per week extra, and whero lodging is not provided 7s. Gd. per week extra.

Tha Wages for Casuals. Tho pay of casual workers is fixed as follows: —Kitchen.—Men: Chef, first day £1, two succeeding days 155., after third day ordinary wages; others, first day 10s., two next days 7s. 6d., thereafter ordinary wago. Women: Head cooks 10s. daily for first threo days, thereafter ordinary wage; other cooics, ?:>. Gd. daily. Waiters: 10s. first three days, fihd thereafter ordinary wages; waitresses, 7s. 6d. per day; waiter, for single meal, os. Pantrymen, 7s. Cd. for thrco days, and then ordinary wages; pantrymaids, 7s. Gd. daily; barmen, 10s. for threo days, and then ordinary wages. When work is dono away from tho employer's preinisos (races, banquets, balls, outings, etc.), the wages shall be: Chefs, £1 per day; second ccoks, los. per day; other kitchen hands, 10s.; waitresses, 7s. Gd. Waiters and pantrymen who aic not employed by tho day, but simply at tho function, shall b?> paid iiot less than 7s. Gd if employed for threo hours or less, and for over thrco hours on the one day, 12s. 6d. Waitresses and pantrymaids similarly employed shall bo paid ssl and 7s. Gd. respectively. -

Hours of Work. Tho hours of work shall (subject to specific, provision in the award) be regulated liy tho Shops and Offices Act. Except in special cases, workers shall not bo brought back to work after theirclay's work is finished until after an interval, of at least ten hours, and they shall bo paid at the rato of timo and a half for the timo by which such interval is curtailed. '' This clause shall not apply to bar _ assistants who have been o.ff duty during the day for any continuous period of not less than four hours. Tlife working hours shall bo worked within" six days only of each week. One full day's holiday .of twentvfour hours on any day in each week shall be allowed every worker in every hotel. Bar workers, in addition to Sunday free, shall get a half-holiday during the week.

Tli© award applies to _ hotelkeopers carrying on business within n radius of 2o miles from the G.P.0.., Wellington, and tlio term of the award is for April 20, 1914, until April 19, 1917.

Important Memorandum. To the award the Court appends the following memorandum"Under the provisions of Section Bof the Shops-and I Offices Act Amendment Act, 1913, it is mandatory upon this Court on making hn award relating to assistants employed in hotels or restaurants to make provision for a whole holiday of twentyfcur hours ou any day in each week I in lieu of the half-holiday or whole holiday provided for in the Shops and Offices Amendment Act, 1910, unless-tho Court is satisfied that such provision would not bo reasonably practicable. It appears from the evidence taken on the application made by the union to' give to this provision that the awarding of such holiday will cause considerable' additional expense in the working of hotels or restaurants affected by such an award, as it will involve tlio employment of extra workers. Such additional cxpenso will not, however, bo so great as to Justify us in holding that tlio granting of such holiday is "not reasonably practicable," and can be met, as no doubt it will, ■by a slightly increased chargo to tlio patrons of the establishments affected, or by a reor- | ganisation of their staffs.

The Case of the Small Hotels. "We have, therefore, continues tlio memorandum, "granted the holiday in conformity with the provisions of the Act. It is provided by tho Act that tlio section above referred to shall not apply to hotels or restaurants in which less than five persons (other than the occupier and the members of his or her family) are ordinarily employed. There is, therefore, no mandatory provision with regard to such last-mentioned hotels or restaurants. "We do not. howover, consider it equitablo either that the workers in such hotels shall be deprived of tho additional holiday, on the ono hand, or, on the other hand, that the proprietors of Mich hotels shall bo placed in a position of advantage in competing with larger establishments. We have, therefore, in tho exercise of our usual powers under tho Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act awarded that all workers in all hotols shall bo given at least one full day's holiday of twenty-four hours oil any day in each week, thus placing all employers and workers respectively on a footing of equality. In view of tho shortening of tho hours of labour by tho granting of the holiday, we have not been ablo to make any substantial increase in tho wages of workers. We have, however, matlo somo slight incroaso in the lower grades of employment. Wo have, also, provided that, with certain exceptions, the hours of work shall ho so arranged that there shall bo an interval of at least ten hours between tlio time at which tho workers leave work, and tho time at which tlicy resume work." Some Features. The preference clause is practically the same as in tho old award, except that, it lias now been extended to includo female as well as male workers. Compared with tho rates prescribed in tho expired award, the Court lias granted increases as follow: —ss. extra per week to barmaids, kitchen hands attending boilers, and to chefs wliero four hands and two hands are employed; 2s. 6d. extra per week to barmen, porters, pantrymen, third cooks, and general hands; .and Is. 'id. extra per wool; to housemaids. A general increase has also been granted to all workers in the board and lodging clauso, which, in

placo of 10s. per week for board and 03. per week for room money for workers living off the premises, as allowed under the old award, fixes 15s. per week for board and "s. 6d. for lodging ill cases where such is not provided. Licensees to Meet. A meeting of liotelkeepcrs will bo held this morning to consider the position created by tho new award. IN AUCKLAND. UNIONS & EMPLOYERS AGREE.. (By Telegraph.'—Prcsi Association.) Auckland, April 5. I Both, the old and new unions of hotel employees are in fcompkto agreement with tho Licensed Victuallers' Association. At the Arbitration Court an application was made for a.n award, with a request Mint the present agreement between the new union and the employers should bo cancelled. It was explained that the new onion would very soon go out of existence, members merging in the old uiiion, The Court discussed the technical difficulty of getting, rid of an agreement which all par-* ties concerned wanted ■to get rid of. Tho Act, His Honour pointed out, did not provido that an award might ho made to supersede ail industrial agree* nicnt. It was ultimately arranged that yet another agreement shou'd he entered into, cancelling tho existing agreement, and agreeing to make ail award in terms of tha proposals now before tho Court. This plan will ho carried out in accordance with tho rules of tho < different organisations concerned. .