RETAIL CHEMISTS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 18, 16 October 1943, Page 6

RETAIL CHEMISTS

Amended Award For Assistants MANAGERS INCLUDED The Court of Arbitration has issued an amended New Zealand Retail Chemists Assistants’ Award in a dispute between the New Zealand Federated Shop Assistants and the All-night Dispensary, Newton Road, Auckland, and others. Nothing in the award applies to apprentices, hut managers are included. . A manager is defined as a registered chemist who is legally enrolled as the manager of a pharmacy,'and a relieving manager is defined as a registered chemist who is employed to take charge ot a pharmacy during the absence of the enrolled manager or occupier. A qualified assistant is one who, 21 years ot age or over, has obtained a certificate til competency as a pharmaceutical chemist from the Pharmacy Board, or is the holdei of a recognized certittficate granted -outside New Zealand. An unqualified assistant is one who has served four years as an apprentice to a registered chemis. keeping open shop or dispensary. A casual worker is one employed for less than two consecutive weeks. No one other than those referred io in the above definitions shall be engaged in the compounding of medicines. Weekly hours are 44, to be worked in accordance with the Shops and Offices Act, lT’l-22 Minimum weekly wage rates are: Managers, £7, a relieving manager uot to be paid less than 10/- a ."’^ k of managers’ rates; qualified assistants, £6/7/6; unqualified assistants, from £4 under 21 years of age to i.i/10/- at -0 vears or over; casual workers, a/a an hour, in the case of. qualified assistants and 3/4 an hour in the case of unqualified aS llelieving assistants’ or relieving managers’ travelling experts are to be paid, in addition to wages. X employed outside a radius of five miles from the Chie. Post Office of any town, and any assistant or manager who is required to live away from his permanent home must receive a boarding allowance of £- a week or the employer may provide beam Ull Wages for other workers employed in chemists’ shops range from I‘A « first six months to £5/10/- at -3 years of age or over, in the case of males, from 17/- to £3/7/6 over a similar period for females. There are special scales foi shopkeepers and storemen, packers and P °Overtime is fixed at time and a half ■for the first three hours, thereafter at double rates, and all work done on Sundays or holidays must be paid for at do Where a white coats are worn-, laundry must be paid for by the employer. Mr Justice Tyndall, in a niemoMndum, states that the Court was asked to insert a complete code fixing the terms and conditions for apprentices. Prior to the Apprentices’ Act the Court had jurisdiction to insert such provisions bu after reviewing the Pharmacy Act of 1939 and its provisions he states that the Court is far from satisfied that this is the position now or that the legislature intended that it should be the position. Mr Prime dissents from the award. “The further restictions imposed and rhe increased wages awarded are greater than are warranted on the evidence submitted, he says. “In particular, I disagree with the decision to include managers so that they will be compelled to be members othe union. I consider it to be quite in principle to compel a manager to be a member of the same union as the workers he controls. In many awards provision is made for the exemption of workers who are in responsible -Positions and who are in receipt of remuneration above a certain margin oyer the award Tate for the classes of workers general? covered by the award. Such a provision at least should have been included in this award.” -