NO AGREEMENT

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 135, 9 June 1937, Page 13

NO AGREEMENT

CARPENTERS' DISPUTE

REFERRED TO COURT

REGRET EXPRESSED

An offer by the employers' assessors yesterday afternoon of 2s 8d an hour for carpenters and 2s 7d an hour for joiners and the conditions in the old award was rejected by the assessors for the employees when the carpenters' and joiners' industrial dispute was resumed before the Conciliation Commissioner (Mr. M. J. Heardon) today.

No agreement was reached, and, with the exception of one or two minor machinery clauses, the whole dispute was referred to the Arbitration Court.

After the luncheon adjournment yesterday, Mr. W. J. Mountjoy, agent for the employers,. said that his assessors could not agree to a weekly rate of wages as suggested by the employees. "It is really absurd to suggest it because the builder cannot afford to take a contract on the chance that the weather is going to be fine every month," he said. "Taken over twelve months it might even ruin the builder. The builder is not responsible for bad weather, and it is not fair to expect the person for whom the job is being done to bear the cost arising out of bad weather conditions. We are definite about an hourly1 rate of pay."

The Conciliation Commissioner suggested that if the employers offered an hourly rate which was tempting enough the.workers might consider it. An employers' assessor: We have made a tempting offer. The Commissioner: I don't think that is a very tempting offer. (The employers offered 2s 6£d an hour and the employees asked £6 a week.) After an adjournment, the employers' assessors offered the applicants 2s 8d an hour for carpenters, 2s 7d for joiners, and the conditions in the previous award without prejudice. OFFER REJECTED. On resumption this morning, Mr. E. C. Sutcliffe, agent for the employees, said.' the workers considered that the assessors for the employers ' had not given sufficient consideration to the claims put forward by the employees. The opinion was held that • the employers had come to the Conciliation Council meeting with the definite intention.of not giving anything away. The conditions in the old award had operated for "a number of years, but there was no reason why they should be .sacred because of their age and continue to operate. "We are living in a changing world, and we feel that one of the contributions to that change should be a change in our working conditions," said Mr. Sutcliffe. That applied particularly in regard to wet time. It was no use saying those things could not be done until they were tried. The 40----hour week was considered to be impossible, buf.it had been adopted. Industry was adapting itself to the change. Apart from the question of hours and wages, another important aspect was the loss of time and the loss as a result of holidays. The position had been rectified to some extent by amendment to the Factories Act, but, unfortunately' for their industry, this had got them both ways. The amendment to the Act had given to the most favoured section of the workers something in addition to.-what they already had. The principle'jmderlying their demands was to give to the outside worker the privileges • enjoyed by the inside worker. "It is no conclusive argument that because we have been working under these conditions for years we should continue to do so, and we feel that the time has come when we should break away from them," he said. "The employers' offer is rejected." . ■ " ■ Replying to Mr. Sutcliffe's suggestion that the employers had not given full consideration to .the workers' claims, Mr. Mountjoy said that the claims had been circulated throughout New Zealand, they had been'considered by the representative associations, and comments on them had been considered/by the executive of the federation, and in no case had there been a suggestion of the employers adopting .them. The general feeling was that the claims were ridiculous in many respects. There were changing conditions, but these We're! not altogether in favour of the employer. There must be some limit in regard to wages and hours of work. . . . "CANNOT GO FURTHER." The industry was carrying a heavy burden at the present time as a result of the 40-hour week, the reinstatement of the 1931 rates, and the ever-increas-ing overhead costs. They could not undertake at this stage to scrap terms and conditions that had proved satisfactory in the past, that were understood by both the employer and the worker, and "which in the majority of cases were happily accepted by the worker. The employers considered that the workers had not put up one argument to show that there was a .need for any material change in the terms and conditions of the present award. The employers had offered the other side 5 per cent, increase in carpenter's .wages and id an hour in-crease-in joiners' rates. So far as the joiners were concerned they had certain privileges under the Factories Act which were not enjoyed by the carpenters.

"We cannot go any further," said Mr. Mountjoy. "If you refer the matter to the Court, we will have to argue the position there, and accept what the Court gives us."

"I feel we have reached a deadlock," said the Conciliation Commissioner. "It is disappointing to send papers forward showing so little progress as a, result of these deliberations. After all, the Court is not the judge of working conditions. "We are the judges and we should have been able to come nearer a settlement. If the parties have made up their minds that it is impossible to come to terms on the working conditions, then I can only say it is regrettable and there is nothing for me to do but refer the matter to the Court." The Commissioner said that when the council sat last year in connection with the carpenters' dispute he referred, to the fact that arising out of the legislation of their own Government the workers had made progress that was unparalleled in the history of the industry in New Zealand, and he felt that so far as wages and working conditions were concerned the workers would do well to entrench themselves. He saw no reason why he should alter that opinion today. His feeling was that as they had made such substantial progress in regard to ( hours and wages in the first twelve months, they should now devote their public activities, to other means by which the conditions of the worker could be improved. He thought it was an error on the part of the working people to concentrate on wages alone and allow other considerations to be dealt with by other people. It was possible to improve the lot of the working people by means other than increased wages. For these reasons he thought the parties might have come nearer to a settlement, although he was not expressing ah opinion whether or not the employers' offer in regard to wages was a satisfactory one.

"I feel it is tragic to send the conditions to the. Court,"-saidJMr.JMtountjoy,

"and I tell you quite frankly you ■will get the conditions you have now. You will only build up false hopes and waste everybody's time."

Mr. Mountjoy said that the union must take the responsibility for referring the matter to the Court. The Court would be annoyed that no agreement had been reached on at least some of the machinery clauses, and the onus would be on the employees to show reasons why the present conditions were not satisfactory. So far there had been no definite evidence that they, were not satisfactory.