WAGES AND HOLIDAYS IN DISPUTE

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 45, 16 November 1940, Page 13

WAGES AND HOLIDAYS IN DISPUTE

Local Body Labourers SURFACEMEN ASK FOR OILSKINS Wages and holidays of labourers employed by local bodies were disputed in the' Court of Arbitration at Wellington yesterday, the workers asking for £4/17/6 a week, and half a crown an hour, the employers asking the wages to be fixed at £4/11/8 a week, and 2/5 an hour. An issue was whether surfacemen called to 'work in wot. weather should be supplied with oilskins. The Court, reserved its decision. The Wellington, Nelson and Westland Local Bodies, Other Labourers, and Related Trades' Industrial Union of Workers applied for a new award. The Court comprised Mr. Justice Tyndall Mr. W. Cecil Prime, employers’ assessor,'and Mr. A. L. .Monteith, workers’ assessor. Mr. B. M. Butler appeared for the union, Mr. 11. J. Bishop for the local bodies. Mr. Butler said the clauses tn dispute referred to wages and holidays, and there was a small clause dealing with allowances for oilskins. The term of the award also had not been agreed to. . „ The union was asking lor a wage ot £4/17/6 weekly, and an hourly rate of 2/6 an hour. Since the former rate of £4/10/- had been agreed upon, the Court had made its general order for a 5 per cent, increase in wages. At least one borough —the Betoiie Borough Council —bad tired of the long-winded negotiations, and without representation from the union, adopted a minimum rate of £o, which included the 5 per cent, increase. “We take our hats off to the Petoue Borough Council,” said Mr. Butler. "Very few people can live decently on £5 a week, and they have acknowledged that.” On precedents established by the Court, he submitted, the minimum wage should be at least £4/15/- a week, if the Court rejected the union’s claim for £4/17/6. A rate of. £5/10/a week was asked for turncocks. Surfacemen called on to clear floodwaters in wet weather, because of the low rates of pay received by them, were in many cases unable, to supply themselves with oilskins. Some local bodies did supply these, said Mr. Butler; the Wellington City Council had done so far many years. It was only asked that they should be provided for those actually doing such work. As to holidays, he submitted there was no reason to change the provisions of the present award. They had been in operation nearly four years, aud there had been no complaints. He asked for a term of 12 months for the award.

Mr. Bishop said that proceedings for a North Island award had broken down, and separate awards had been made by the Court for the Northern and Taranaki districts. In both cases the rate fixed was £4/11/8 weekly, and 2/5 an hour. He asked the Court to award the same rate in this case. There was no reason to depart from that standard, and the employers were anxious to secure uniformity of conditions in local body awards. He said no great significance in the fact that the Petone Borough Council paid £5 a week. In effect it was merely paying a greater bonus than the 5 per cent.

The employers objected to the clause about oilskins, on the ground that it was too comprehensive in its effect. The clause read “surfacemen and others required to work in the rain.” This was far too nebulous; it might mean they would have to supply oilskins and gumboots to everyone covered by the award. He asked the Court to embody in the award the same holiday provisions as in the Auckland and Taranaki awards. In the other districts holidays had been awarded only to those on regular weekly wages, not to casual workers. He asked for a term of two years for the award-.