CLERKS' UNION

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 46, 18 November 1919, Page 7

CLERKS' UNION

A. DEMANDS BEFORE CONCILIATION COURT_ UNUSUAL FEATURES By Telegraph-Press Association ! S Christchurch, November 17. '.i, Tho dispute tiled by tho nowly-forined \. Clerks' Union wiis before tho Conciliation ,„ Council to-day, the Commissioner. Mr. . 0 W. H. Hagger presiding. The union 1( j asked for a 33-hour wiiok. overtime at tho <[ rate of time and a half, and wages o ranging from 255. for tho first year to j X 5 10s. in tho fifth year.' (1 Mr. F. Goroper, for 830 employees cited, io filed a notice that it was impossible to c- frame counter-proposals before procced--10 ing with tho business. j, Tho Commissioner said that it was tho Is first occasion that an application had i, been made in the Dominion for an award sr to govern wages and working conditions o of workers in offices, he had received if not less than 76 potitions, signed by '• clerks employed in banks, insurance, auc--0 .tioneors, lawyers' offices, etc., and from n persons cited that they had struck out. i. Mr. H. P. Mou-antj general secretary '<• of tho Bank Officers' Guild, aeked peril mission to address the council, but Mr. it R. D. Martin, secretary of the union, l ' objected, his objection being upheld. ir Mr. J. A. Frostick, to Mr. Martin: 11 Why do you raise the objection? e Mr. Martin referred to a roport of '» some Temarks made by Mr. Mourant at a : ' meeting of tho hank officers, in which J" he inforred that trades unions wore like '> men going about with pistols levelled. is "If tho union gets an opportunity to go ? before tho bank clerks and contradict the gross mis-statements made by Mr. Mou--18 rant, wo aro then prepared to leave tho 1 matter to the. bank clerks to decide for themselves, but we t-ake strong exception , to tho back-door methods which havo j been adopted by Mb, Mourant." Mr. Frostick': Do you mean that the union recognises the necessity for making ' alterations in its claims? * Mr. Martin: Yes. ~ Mr. W. Sini, for tho law clerks, was o refused permission to speak in support of e their petition, owing to Mr. Martin obt jecting. e Tho Commissioner said he had, received r 98 petitions from employers asking to ■t bo excluded from the scopo of tho award. 4 Mr. Martin objected to petitions being ,1 forwarded to tho Court, and inferred that y many employeee were intimidated into .. signing petitions, The objection was 8 upheld. iJ Mr. Frostick asked Mr. Martin if he [. would deny that tho union proposed :. to involve about 3000 workers in the <leo mands as filed. e Mr. Martin: No. I will not denty it. i- . Mr. frostick said he understood that y the union was registered with a. mem--0 bership of 18, and yet it sought to secure ii "an award involving about 3000 workers. if At the suggestion of tho Commissions r the Union assessors conferred, and anr nounced that they were prepared to leave - the matter of inclusion to the bank 3 clerks. After tho position had boon exa plained to them by the representative, of the union, Mr. Frostick, in the course 1 of an address, said thnt there wero feai turos in the demands before tho council , which were entirely new, and which, ue submitted, were never contemplated iu the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. Ho contended that there was no general desire for a Clerks' Union, and said that it would be physicaliy impossible to accede to the demands made. After further discussion the union assessow retired to confer, and on returning to the council intimated that they had decided not to go on with the matter at s present. They asked, however, that pro- (. cMiimis bo adjourned until they were t able .to consult other members of the j union as to the desirability of abandoning tho claims and splitting tho demands according to tho various sections, affected. In the event of tho uiiion deciding to withdraw and advance claims according to sections, it was suggested that . notification be given to the employers' j assessors. The Court decided to adjourn the pro- ' ceedinga as suggested, but held that iu the event of tho claims not being with' drawn, the dispute be rent straight to the Arbitration Court, without tho assessors again having to Ik) called together.