WAGES UNDECIDED

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 11, 28 January 1937, Page 7

WAGES UNDECIDED

No Agreement in Clerical Dispute EMPLOYERS' OFFER

; Failing to agree in Palmerston Nort , (yesterday on the matter of wages, the, 'Conciliation Council set np to consider [the application of the Wellington Cleri•cal Workers' Union for an^ award to 'cover the Wellington Industrial District 'outside a 25-mile radius of Wellington 'city, had to refer the matter to the. Arbitration Court, along with a numiber of other matters on which a settlementwas not possible. , Mr. M. J. Reardon, Conciliation Oommissioner, presided. The assessors for the employers were Messrs R. H. Billens (Palmerston North), D. E. Bustin (Wanganui) and P. B. Desmond (Feuoing) and for the employees Miss M. Petersen (Palmerston North), and Messrs W. A. Stewart (Masterton) and R. Hoggard (Wellington). Mr. S. I. McKenzie (Palmerston North) and W. iN. Pharazyn (Wellington) acted as advocates for the respective parties. Provision for meal money for employees Tequired to work overtime was ireferred to the Court. No agreement could be reached in respect of the proportion of juniors to seniors, and the Court is to decide this matter. The period of annual holiday was disputed, the employers offering one week and the union standing out for two. Marriage of Employees. The. union withdrew a claim that no emplover should seek to infiuence the private lives of his employees or in any way endeavour to control their conduct : outside ofS.ce hours. It was stated that ;this clause was designed to prevent em--;ployers stopping employees getting jmarr'ied, but it was pointed out by the! i employers ' representatives that it wouldj !be difficult to secure a convietion in thej 'case of a breach, which the union con-j ceded. , The amount of sick leave that an employee should be allowed on full pay, was left to the Cqurt, as also was provision for under-rate workers, The amount of salary an employee was receiving that was neoessary to remove him from the provisions of the award was disputed, the union suggesting £400 pcr a"nnum and the employers, £300. The hours of work in newspaper com-,-pany ofSces were fixed at 44 per week,, |not exceeding eight hours on any day.' (Employees required to work on any holi-! day without extra pay are to have an( jextra day added to their annual holi- . day. I The wages question, on which noj jagreement was reached the previousl jday, was again tabled. j The Commissioner pointed out thatl ;the union had announced its willing-j ,'ness -to aecept the Wellington award,' and he asked whether the employers were now prepared to consider that. Lesseniug the Elow. Mr. McKenzie said the employers asked for a gradual rise in salaries and-1 wages to lessen the blow. Mr. Beardon drew attention to the ifact that, if the matter were referred to Jthe Court, a hearing would not be posisible before May and perhaps June. The nnion was prepared to accept the Wellington award, and if that were not acceptable to the employers, they "WQuld have to argue to the Court that its.' decision was wrong. ■ Mr. Billens pointed out that the Court had legislated for the city, and that an award for the country distriots .would have to take cognisance of the. (lower cost of living. The respective parties retired for a quarter of an hour to discuss the matter among themselves, and on the resumption, Mr. McKenzie announced that the ,'employers were prepared to pay for six imonths from tte middle of February >the wages set out in their higher scale, Mr. Pharazyn asked whether the employers would agree to the Wellington jcity rates being paid after that time. After a short retirement, the employ|ers ' assessors announced that they were jprepared to pay their higher scale from (the middle of February till the middle lof December, the Wellington award rates then to becdme operative until thej date of expiry of the country award, | namely January 4. After the luncheon adjournment, Mr. Pharazyn reported that the offer had been considered, but the union assessors had decided to leave the matter to the Court. After one or two minor matters had been attended to, the council concluded. The Counter-offers. The scale offered by the employersi provided, in the case of males, for com-i piencing wages of 15s for boys under! 16, inereasing by 2s 6d for eaeh year of | age up to 20. For every six months of i service there would be increments of 5sj up till the end of the fourth year, risingj thereafter by 10s per annum till a maximum of £4 15s is reached, which would take nine years in the case of a| boy starting at 16 or under, and seveni years for the oldest age category. iTor females the commencing wages rangedi! from 15s to 19s and provided for aj maximum of 45s, reached in the sixthi year in the case of girls starting atunder 17, and in the fourthe year where the age of commencement was 20 or over. Workers 21 years of age or over were to receive not less than the basic wage. The Wellington city award provides starting wages of 15s for boys under 16,i 32s 6d for youths from 18 to 19 and 55s j for males from 20 to 21 with intermedii ate gradations. Half-yearly increases ' ranging from 5s to 10s are paid until a maximum of £5 5s is reached, this being in the ninth year in the case of boys

starting under 16 and in the seventh year for those starting at 20 years o! age. Wages for females range fron 15s to 27s for tho lirst half-year and in crease to a maximum of £2 15s in tlu seventh year for those starting earl; and in the fifth year for those startin; at 20 years of age. There is the provisthat male workers 21 years of ago o over are to receive not less than £3 .10 per week, and adult females not les; than £1 16s.