GASWORKS EMPLOYEES

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 104, 27 January 1920, Page 3

GASWORKS EMPLOYEES

BEFORE CONCILIATION COUNCIL

NO CONFIDENCE IN COURT

RISK OF DEADLOCK

The hearing of tltif dispute between the Wellington Gas Company and certain of its works employees was commenced before the Conciliation Commissioner (11 r. W. Newton) yesterday morning. The assessors were Messrs.'W. A. W. Grenfell, A. DoiiKall. and T. Ingerton, for the company, and Messrs. L. Glover, D. Delaney, and 11. Adams for the union.

■. Company's Offer, I This ease was ono in which the cita- ', tinn came from the employers, and the e Drono.-als of the company were that the . rates of pay and conditions of work ? should be as follow:— t Stokers. 13s. !)d. per shift of eight, hours; ■ pipe-jumpers and pitch-pan workers, 12s. i 9d. per shift of eigTit hours; fire-cleaners, i 12s. 3d. per shift of eight hours. In i addition to the minimum rates the com- ,• pany proposed a bonus of 2s. per shift to * nil workers until the Court ordered othcr- ; wise. Any worker employed for less than i eicrht hours to be paid pro rata at the 5 above-mentioned rates, according to the . class, of work at which he is employed, l Pegarding tile payment of overtime rates, > fs comoanv sought tho following clause: . ""A'hen pitch-pan workers, pipe-jumpers, . and fire-cleaners are required' to work . more than eight hours in any one shift, ! tho overtime rate shall ba for the first two hours, time and a quarter, for the second two hours time and a half; and, thereafter, double time until the recog-. nised time arrives lor such workers to start their next regular shift." Tho company also aslted that each man emoloved in tho retort-house should receive twopence per shift worked, as "clog" money, in addition to his wages. Other demands by the company included: Payment at double time for nine holidays in tho year, and ordinary pay if it be the worker's dav off. Each .worker who has worked twelve months to receive seven days' holiday on full pay. In tho evont of the conveyor breaking down, the stokers to bo paid time and a half for such time as the conveyor is out of action. The award to operate for three years. Union Will Not Go Before Court, Mr. L. Glover, speaking for tho union, said that tho men desired to know where they stood under those proceedings. TJ;c attitude of the union towards the Arbitration Court wns that, as tho Judge | was unfamiliar with the conditions in i the industry, he could not give a satis- j factory award for them to work under. I If the present proceedings were a prelim- j inary to forcing the union into the i court, then it was useless to proceed with the hearing. If an attempt was to ho made to settle the dispute without recourse to the Court, then the union representatives would be prepared to give time to consideration of proposals for a settlement. The men objected to going liefore tho Court for the reason that an award made by the Court would be binding on the men, and the men claimed that thev themselves should have tho final say as to whether the conditions were suitable or not. Mr. Grenfell, for the company, said that tho proceedings lvero certainly under the Arbitration Act, but lio pointed out that tho agreement under which the men were now working was arrived at as the result of conciliation proceedings dimilnr to those now in progress, nnd he saw no reason why such an agreement could not bo made again. Failing such nn agreement, the matter would certain- . lv go to the Arbitration Court. The ■ company was making no bones nliout ' that. Mr. Glover said that the Court ' was not competent to deal with the case because it was unaware of the conditions ' in the industry, but it was open to tho ' union to uresent the case before the ( Court in such a way that the Court ' would be fully cognisant of all facts in connection with the dispute. The obicct of referring the case to the Court ' was to ensure that there should be final- i itv. Ho thought it was a great pity ! that the union should take up the r.tti- ' tudo that it would not accept any sot of j proposals unless they were referred first ' to the union before adoption. It appeared to him to be useless for the Con- ' oiliation Council to sit if both sides to ' tho dispute demanded that after the de- , liberations of the assessors the matter should airain be reviewed by both sides.

The Other Hands. . Mr. Glover said emphatically that tho •union would not go before the Arbitration Court, but was prepared to try to come- to an agreement before tho Conciliation Council. He said that the union embraced all tho hands of tlie company. The dispute before the council was a dispute Iwtwecn the company and the retort-house hands only. The union wished to have all the hands dealt with. The representatives of the union did not feel inclined to come to an agreement affecting onlv one section of its members. Mr. Grenfell said that tho other workers, for the company were covered by other awards, lie- suggested that the proper course for the union to pursue was to file proposals covering other employees. There was some further discussion on this point, but tho Commissioner said that ho saw no difficulty about the council dealing with all the men employed at the works. Mr. Dougall, for the company, said ho saw no objection to the company entering into agreements affecting other employees, provided it were relieved from other' awards now applicable to these other workers. With this Mr. Glover agreed on behalf of the union. The Difficulties.

After a brief adjournment to enable the employers' representatives lo confer, Mr. Gremell said thcro were two outstanding facts. The first was that they thought it proper that the union's representatives should bo authorised to como to a settlement. If that was not done, then any agreement arrived at was only tentative, and no one could expect the coimiany to make concessions when th« men' might take up the stand that tho company had been squeezed for bo much and they might, get still mom by going further. Tho company wanted to know definitely whether any agreement arrived at was to bo reviewed by tho union or not. The company itself would have nj such option, and it was unfair that such a right should be demanded by one side when it could not bo exercised by the other. They were sorry lo say also that tho union had given instructions to the men not to work overtime, litis was a serious matter from the standpoint of the working of the company. The men ought to he prepared to do necessary work. It was subject to (he union j agreeing to meet them in these two matters that they were prepared to agree to alt adjournment in order to cnablo them to go into tho whole matter of a general depute. Mr. Glover, replying, stressed the point that an agreement consented to by the men would bo very much more binding than any that could be arrived at by their representatives. He, however, was prepared to ask the men to give them the power that was desired. Kcgarding overtime work, he pointed out that tho work was strenuous, and after a man had worked t-1 or 4:1 hours it was tint a fair thing to ask li.m to work overtime. The men also were aware of the fact that when they worked overtime, tho employee wero fond of reckoning up their OMH'time with their ordinary time rates ami quoting the combined total as the average wage earned, and using that as an argument why they should not gel an increase, He was not prepared to say whether the men would work overtime, but if there were a reasonable chance of coining to an agreement ho would be prepared to submit that, matter lo thorn. At tho same time, ho did not know that the union hail given any such instruction as that referred to; if it bad it would have notified him. If they wanted the men to b;i exceedingly reasonable then tho company should set the example, and he assured them the men would not 1« far behind, lie was prepared to ask the men during the hearing of the dispute to rosort to normal conditions. . About Dismissals, Proceeding, M.r. Glover said Mi at if a.n agreement was to bo entered into thoy

must first trv fa Ret I>oth sides to bo reasonable. The company jind lately dismissed seven men, including the president of the union (Mr. Delaney). They know that when such a thing took placo at a time like tihr.t, it was not the wav lo enter into an agreement. That was specially so in the case of a president of ft union. If tlio company wanted an agreement ho suggested that it should reinstate those men, in order to place all the men in a. proper frame of mind. Mr. Grenfell: Those men were dismissed fo r hampering tho company by refusing' to work overtime. If tihe'ro is a breakdown it is tho duty of the employees to como to the help of the company, which is supplying a public necessity, ilicso men refused to enrrv on. Under those circumstances they *wcro dismissed, and, I think title companT was justified.

Mr Delaney replied that ho was not employed on the stair wliera the breakdown look place, yet he was tho first to oo dismissed.

Men to be Reinstated. . Mr. Dougall: I have already told tho j union that when the men are prepared > to work reasonable overtime the company c is quite prepared' to take them back. Air. Glover: The dispute is between ; tho workers and the company, and tho , i incn look at it from tho point of view , iTi „?" tlu '* v wor * overtime they do i I it to oblige the company. When a dispute . , takes place, an { [ the company is found : to be unreasonable, then from tho point . • of view of the union the matter of workj "'? overtime is one for individual action. , Mr. Dougall: The company still holds , ! to it that if the men are prepared to | come along and work in the ordinary way, it is prepared to take them back. I Mr. (..lover said it was admitted bv the men that it was reasonable to be called upon to do emergency work where . there was a. breakdown—that was when tho relations between Iho company and the men were good. They were not, however, good at present. After further discussion. Mr. Dougall paid that on,the understanding arrived at on tho preceding f|iieslions, ho would agree to .reinstate the dismissed' men to-morrow unconditionally. Tho proceedings were then adjourned ■until February IC, to enable (iho parties to consider the position fully in the meantime. Tiie union will hold a general meeting to-morrow night.