THE TIPPING HABIT

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2450, 1 May 1915, Page 5

THE TIPPING HABIT

MUST IT GO? STEWARDS WILLING TO ABOLISH IT The cooks' and stewards' dispute was continued in the Court of Arbitration yesterday. His. Honour Judge Stringer presided, and. the assessors with him lyere Mr. E. F. Duthie (employers') and Mr. J. A. M'Cullough (employees'). The case was an application by the Federated Cooks and Stewards for an award. Messrs. E. J. Carey and H. Marment appeared for the Cooks' and Stewards' Union, and Mr. G. W. Smith for the Union Steam Ship Company. On the previous day Mr. Carey had stated that''the stewards would agree to the abolition of tips, and •,had said that the wages the union now asked for stewards were as follow: —First-class stewards £8,/ second-class £7, with other grades in proportion. The hours of labour asked wero 10 per day, between 5.30 a.m. and 8.30 p.m.; overtime at the rate of Is. por hour in terminal ports, the hours to be then 8 per day, with other conditions governing Sunday, sailing hours, and holidays. An annual holiday of 14 days was asked. Preference was also asked for all departments under the union. The demands for cooks on the intercolonial and Island boats were: .Chefs £10 a month, second cooks £10 10s., second extra cooks £9, third £7, scullerymen £7, baker £12, second baker £7, crew cook £7, butcher £10, and other ratings in proportion, for the Vancouver and 'Frisco service ranged higher, and for the Home trade slightly lower. Yesterday the union representatives called further evidence in support of their case. Witnesses said, in regard to hour:- of work, that in several instances hours could be. regulated by the employment of an additional man. Now there was no limit to the hours a man might work every day, and the result was that a great deal of unnecessary work was done, even on Sundays. It was fitated,' also, in evidence that tips now yielded very little money.

Union's Claims "Extraordinary." 8 In his address to the Court, Mr. Smith declared that the union's claims wer.e extraordinary. He objected to a the proposed inclusion in the scope of the'award of the steamers, engaged in the V ancouver and San Francisco services, and he submitted that the Court had, no jurisdiction- to,make an award for those vessels.: Their crews were engaged in Sydney. The Vancouver vessels called at Auckland, and the San Fran- jcisco boats called at Wellington, but that did not permit the. Court to make ail award governing their crews of cookß , and stewards. The ships engaged in fche Vancouver service were now regis- j tered in London. The Huddart-Parker { Company, Mr. Smith also submitted, t was not subject to the law of New Zealand. The employers were prepared to .j make some alterations in the classifica- f tlon so as to bring it up-to-date. The j Sail Francisco and Vancouver steamers r made round voyages, which began and > ended in Australia, and calls at New Zealand ports were merely incidents in ( the voyages. If His Honour disagreed , with this view, Mr. Smith hoped a caso J would be stated for the opinion 'of the ■ Court of Appeal. The bulk of the men , on the 'Frisco and Vancouver boats be- : j longed to tho Australian union. The ( wages asked for by the union varied | from a 14.25 per cent, incrcaso (at the ( lowest)' to 100 per cent, (at tho highost). j The average increase requested represented a 47.5 per cant._ rise. These per- , centages were exclusive of overtime, { payment for holidays, etc. The last increases had been made in 1909, when the galley departments had got increases, but not the stewards.', The last ( award was made by the Court in 1904, ( after nine days' hearing. 'No attempt was made to alter that award till 1910, when demands similar to the present were made, except that the wages asked for were less. At that timo the demand for preference was refused by the employers, and afterwards dropped by the union. ■ "I do not .think it possible for the Court to abolish tips," added Mr. Smith. "If it made such an order I don't see how it could be enforced.", In arriving at the income of stewards, the, Courts in New Zealand and Australia had always taken tips into consideration, and in England tips were held to be part of the award. The union had alleged that tips had gone down in value of late, but the fact that no books had been produced in support of this statement was open to comment. His Honour; It would havo been better had they been produced. Although the work of a steward was light, Mr. Smith continuod, the demands asked for this class of worker were the same rate of pay as was given to an able seaman, whose work was arduous. As to the allegation that the cost of living had increased, Mr. Smith said that even if there had been some increase the loss would fall on the employers, who provided the ■ men with meals. Must Pass It On. Mr. Smith went on to say that the granting of the demands as to wages and hours -would mean an extra cost to the Union Company aWne of £56,000. Mr. Carey'had suggested that the Union Company would pass any increase on to the public. "I don't say they, will do that, said Mr. Smith, "but if such an increase as that put on there will be really no alternative, to considering some readjustment of fares." Unless the Court was satisfied that there were genuine reasons for increases in wages, lr.creases' should not be granted. InSreases 3hould not. be granted out of mere generosity, as thereby hardship might be put upon the.public. The employers strongly objected to the inclusion in the award of a preference clause, which was denied the workers in 1904, and had never been granted ' except in Auckland, whero the circumstances governing the running of the j Northern Company's boats differed con- ! siderably from the circumstances connected with the running of the Union Company's vessels.. The number of stewards in New Zealand was from 1800 to 2000. The members of the. union numbered only one-third of the total, ' and that' was another Teason against the request for preference. Moreover, a preference clause might compel the company to employ Germans or Aiistrians, and in the present circumstances the company would raise strong objections to such "a compulsion. Mr. Smith was quite Bure that tho company would bo willing to see what could be done to enable the men to have their meals in greater comfort than some of them said they at present enjoyed. The union had asked for a Dominion award, but the company suggested the adoption of the clause from the engineers' awardthat it should apply to all vessels taking out articles in Now Zealand, excepting vessels trading to Lradon, and the Aparima trading to India. As to the term of the award, the last awaid was for a three years' period, and' any award about to be made should run for a similar length of timo. Mr. Carey bad commented on the prosperity of t-lia company, but that prosperity had nothinf at all to do with the case; 1 the question for tho Court was one of fair _ and reasonable wages. = His Honour: So long as there is no doubt that the company can pay. Sir. Carey: Mr. Smith is submitting that the matter of tho prosperity of the company should never enter into tlie question at all. His Honour: We had some cases before up till othor day in which it wan claimed that increases might destroy

the industry. In such cases the prosperity of the company becomes a factor. Sixpence Per Hour. Mr. Smith continued. He remarked that it had been said that the cost of living had increased. He admitted .that there had lately been some increase due to war conditions, but an award should not be based on. abnormal conditions, or, at the end of the war, wages might have to bo reduced. He did not see how the hours of work could be limited to ten. per day; except that all sucu things were possible at heavy cost through extra staffing and the consequent reduction ill space for the accommodation of passengers. His Honour: What most impressed mo was how these wages work out at per hour. Sixpence per hour does seem startlingly low, and for the bwer grades it works out at less than sixpence per hour. , , r ~ Mr. Smith: That is exclusive ol tips and food. ... His Honour: Food, yes. But still that pay is all the men get, and some of them have families. . Mr. Smith: Then, it is exclusive of tiPSa j J, His Honour: Some of these men don t participate m tips. , Peter Alexander Young ; superintendent steward for the Union Company, Dunedin, who claimed to have a fair knowledge of the providoring department of ships, was called as a witness. He expressed the opinion that the wages demands were exorbitant, and far in excess of any paid elsewhere. He thought it would be impracticable to limit hours. The average cost of provisioning the crews on ships was not less than los. per week. The increased wages proposed by the, union would mean £34,044 for the New _ Zealand traders, excluding the Tasmanian traders. The clauses regarding holidays and overtime would cost the. company £22,800. . „ . Mr. Carey: Do you hold that the company has a right to make the public pay in tips? , ' . Witness said that he could not answer for the company. , . Mr. Carey: Do you think it is a fair thing for men—some of them married to be working for 18s. per week? Witness: Married men have no right to ba there. ; , Mr. Carey: Do you think the'demands ought to be refused when they could be mot by increasing the cost of fares by sevenpence eacli?. n Witness: I hare nothing to do with that. . c Mr. Carey: But you have charge ot a department and can make recommendations,