DAIRIES AND GROCERS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 172, 7 August 1937, Page 8

DAIRIES AND GROCERS

— Presp Associatlon.)

Court To Define Former's Hours

(Bv Telegraph

kew PLYMOUTK, Last Night. Action to prevent competition withj grocexy shops by dairiet after the business hours of tho former, was sought. from the Arbitration Court by bothi ;paTties in the Taranaki grocers' dispute. The claims for an award and counter: proposals both included a clause sook- . !ing to enforce the same business hours for grocery shops and others selling the isame main lines.. The hearing was adijourned to Auckland. Mr. A. W. Croskery, the undon's representative, gave his opinion that the Shops and Offices Act would give the power both sides sought. It would provide that parties to an award, whether they employed assistants or not, should observe any hours laid down by that award. There was a siinilar instance in the case of butchers' shops, he added. Any shop selling fresh meat had to observe the same hours as butchers. ''One takes only a quart of milk a day and sells groceries at night," said Mr. Croskery when mentioning that in Hastings there were 78 dairies. Some of those dairies were in unfair competition with the grocers. The union had urged tho grocers to try to proteet themselves before but this was the first time the employers had adopted the suggestion. As the dispute was adjourned to Auckland Mr. Justice O'Kegan naked Mr. Croskery to malce a statement (when the CouTt sat there.