PRESERVING FACTORIES

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 27, 31 July 1936, Page 10

PRESERVING FACTORIES

In its judgment today on the application made on behalf of Irvine and Stevenson's St. George Co., Ltd., Dunedin, for a 41-hour week, the Arbitration Court said:

"This firm has nine factories and its perations include fruit preserving, am making, fish preserving (princially crayfish and whitebait), vegetable arming, and starch making. The bulk f these products are highly perishable, 'he necessity for the prompt treatnent of ripe fruit and vegetables sent o the factories for preserving is set iut in the judgment of this Court reating to fruit and vegetable preservng and canning and jam making, and he considerations detailed in that udgment arc, in the main, applicable o the present case. The preserving >f fish is in a similar position. The :atch of the fishermen is dependent in weather and other conditions, and he factories must be ready to accept md to treat promptly the fish when t arrives.

"We think that it has been shown to be impracticable to carry on efficiently the work of these factories on a 40-hour week and that the applicant is entitled to an extension to 44 hours.

"An order will, on September 1, accordingly be made under subsection 5 of section 3 of the Factories Amendment Act, 1936, in respect of all- workers employed in or in connection with each of this firm's factories, extending to 44 hours per week (exclusive of overtime) the limit fixed by subsection 1 of that section. Work on Saturdays will be permitted. The order will come into force on September 1, 1936. and will continue in force until August 31, 1937.