Holiday Confusion

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 3, 19 January 1937, Page 6

Holiday Confusion

INDUSTRIAL AWARD Wellington Ahniversary Date H#B* DEC1SI0NS DIFFER Confusion will exist ia the mind* of Hawke's Bay shoppers on Friday ne^t, January 22, for On that day the majority of the shops in Hastings will be closed, while the shops will remain open in "Napier This change has been neqessitated because of recent amendments in the industrial award affecting ' Hawke's Bay retailers whose staff s come under the. Shop Assistants' Award, which requires that shops he closed to enable the shop assist- * ants to celebrate the Wellington . provincial anniversary. Napier was able to have another date substi- - tuted, but it was not found possible to make such a change for Hastings, Previous to the present Shop Assistants' Award coming into operation there was a clause in the previous award excluding the Hawke's Bay provincial district from that portion of the award which stipulated that the Wellington Anniversary Day should be observed as a full boliday> but the new award does not contain this provision. Consequently, for this J'ear at least Anniversary Day will have to be granted, except in Napier, but representations are to be made to the Shopi Assistants' Union and the Labour Department to see whether aiiother date can be substituted in the future. As the result of a meeting of Nap retailers held last night, it has been arranged timo Anniversary Day will not be observed, but that People'a Day of the Hawke's Bay Spfing Show be substituted. This information was givc to the "Herald-Tribune" this momi by Mr W. Horne} president of the Napier Retailers' Assoeiation, who pointed out that, outside of a radius of 15 miles from the General Post Office/ Wellington, it was possible to have a substitute holiday on another day of the year, and this actionc,had eoasequently been taken in Napier, NAPIER POSITION * In this Napier is particularly fortunate in tHat Anniversary Day' falls on the late shopping night, and the effect on retailers would have been magnified if the change had not been made. Last year January 22 was a Wednesday} wfiich would have been legs disruptive to trade, "frhile next year Annivei'eary Day is a Saturday, and tinless a change il effected, as is hoped for, Hastings shopkeepers Will bq the suffererS- in the same manner as Napier' would have been. When it was realised that Friday would have to be granted as a holiday, the Hastings Retailers' Assoeiation immediately entered into negotiations with the union to see whether it Would be possible to hold the holiday on another date, as a clause in the award States that another date may he substituted, with the consent of the other party to the award, but it was not possible for the " negotiations "to come to a satisfactory conclusion and the holiday will consequently be recognised. A meeting of retailers was held t.hiQ morning, Mr O. Griffiths presiding, and aiter the question had been deliberated it was announeed that retailers wonld recogise this clause in the award* and obsetve nest Friday as a holiday. Thus, on Anniversary Day all shops engagefi in the soft goods, boot and shoe, fancy goods, leather goods, hardware, crockery, books, stationery and furnishing trades will be closed. As yet it is not known whether the grocers or butchers will be open for business, as these two latter trades come under different industrial agreements, and no announcement has yet been made by the employers' organisations concerned, Hastings retailers hoped that it would be possible, and also more aoceptable to the assistants, if Monday next could have been substituted, as this would have provided a long weekend, and would also have been less disruptive to business, but it was not found possible to bring about this alteration, so Friday will have to stand, ANNIVERSARY ASPECT As far as the Anniversary Day aspeet of the holiday is concerned, it is felt m Hawke's Ray that the' day has little siguificance to the district, as Hawke's Bay was established as a'province in 1859, and consequently is not concerned with a holiday which is actually only of historical interest to Wellington. This is indicated hy the fact that in the Wellington district special provision is made for entei'tainments on this day, including the second day of the races at Trentham, but in Hawke's Bay there are no annual events which the public can attend, and Friday will therefore be just an ordmary holiday. It is notvyet known whether Hawke's Bay has a fixed anniversary day, but it is possible, if the date is suitable, that this day may he suggested as an alternative day when discussions are resumed by the retailers with the Shop \ssistants' Union.