FIVE-DAY WEEK

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 228, 23 June 1944, Page 6

FIVE-DAY WEEK

Auckland Grocers’ Support

(By Telegraph.—Press Association.) AUCKLAND, June 22. A five-day working week was strongly supported by the Auckland Master Grocers’ Industrial Union of Employers at a meeting last night. The meeting voted in favour of a machinery resolution that claims for a new award embracing a fiveday week, with the late night on Friday, should be submitted to a conciliation council for settlement, the voting being 62 in favour and 17 against. “This is the first gun in the five-day week,” said Mr. R. Wilson, president of the association, when submitting the resolution. The discussion was prolonged and considerable, attention was given to the position of the country storekeeper when it was claimed that he could not give a satisfactory service under a five-day week. Mr. Wilson announced that as a result of the views expressed at the last meeting, a postal ballot- had been conducted among the country storekeepers of the Auckland district, and 189 had recorded votes in favour and 120 against, the supporting majority being, 69. Those favouring the shorter week included some of the biggest stores in the Auckland Province, two of them in the Waikato. The fact that the Grocers’ Federation in Wellington had left Auckland to use its own discretion in the matter of the five-day week was mentioned by Mr. H. R. Blott. Auckland! was the only association that had its own award, the remainder coming under the Dominion award.