ARBITRATION COURT

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 261, 31 July 1919, Page 8

ARBITRATION COURT

CLASSIFICATION OF PAINTERS

PALMERSTON UNION OBJECTS

In March last tho Court of Arbitration heard an application of. the Wellington Painters and Decorators' Union for an amendment to their award. Tho application was made under tho War Legislation and Statute Law Amendment Act, 1918, and was aimed at securing for tho workers an increase in wages proportionate to the increase in the cost of living. In its decision, tho Court for the first timo classified painters as "skilled" and "semi-skilled," and gave tho two classes of workers different rates of wages. Later, the Court followed the same procedure in the llawke'6 Bay district. The above facts were referred to yesterday when the complete agreement arrived at betwoen tho Palmerston North master painters and their employees was brought bet'oro the Court to be mado into an award. One clause of the agreement was as follows:—"The minimum rato of pay for competent journeymen working at any branch of tho trado shall lie Is. 7Jd. per hour. In addition to tho above 1 rato there-shall bo paid to i.the said workers a bonus of 2\<\. per hour to competent men only." Mr.' 1\ Cornwell (representing tho employees' union) wished to seo the clause adopted by the Court exactly as it stood. Ho said that all the unions wore dissatisfied with the classification tho Court had introduced in Wellington and Hawke's Bay. There had. never before been such a classification in the trade,, and the Court had made it without being requested by tho employers to do so, and without hearing evidence. The system meant that in times of slackness the cheaper man would tend to be retained in employment, while the other man went out. ' Mr. Justico.Stringer said that if the Court could bo convinced that the classification was operating to tho detriment of tho more liighly iskilled man, it would be prepared to muke an altera- • tion.

Discussing the effect of the word "cornpotent" in the recommendation, Mr. Cornwell took the view- that if a i.ian was not Competent lie would come within tho scopo of tho under-rate workers' clause, or not obtain employment at all. Mr. W. A. Grenfell (representing the employers) asked the Court to put the trade in Palmerston North on the 6ame footing as in the adjoining districts of Wellington and Hawke's Bay.' Mr. Cornwell: But tho employers and the workers have agreed to this recommendation. Mr. Justice Stringer 'to Mr. Cornwell): You insist that as the parties agreed to it before the Conciliation Council the Court should adopt it. Tho effect of your contention is that you leave out the word "competent." Personally, I think it would be very undesirable to have any part of a district on a different rate. AVhether we were right or wrong in making the previous classification, we have done it. His Honour intimated that tho Court would take timo to consider its decision.

HOTEL & RESTAURANT WORKERS. Mr. E.' Kennedy applied to ha-vo the agreement recently armed at ■in the Wellington country restaurant, tea room, and refreshment room workers' dispute made into an award. Mr. W. A. Grenfell asked tor differential treatment for certain firms. In tho Wangiraui and Palmerston North, licensed hotels' dispute a partial agreement had bee'.-, reached at the sittings of the Conciliation Council. The Court was asked to decide what the wages of general hands and the term of the award should be. In the Napier and Hawke's Bay licensed hotels' dispute t]io questions, of tho wookly holiday; the wages of waitresses, pantrynialds, ; . housemaids, and general hands, as well as the term and Scope of the award, remained unsettled. And the Court was invited to decide them: ',',,' The Court reserved decision in all three cases.