DAIRY WORKERS' AWARD

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 78, 24 December 1937, Page 3

DAIRY WORKERS' AWARD

-Press Ag80clation.(

Higher Wages and Change in Hours COMPLEX WAGE SCALE

(By Tel«gmph-

WELLINGTON, La»t Night. Conditions of work aud wages in the dairy industry are fixcd in the New Zealand dairy faetory employees' award issued by the Court of Arbitration to-day. The award applies to butter factories, cheese factories, packing houses, milk powder factories, condensed milk factories, creani bulking depots, casein creameries, casein drying factories, and cheese curing stations, and is to eome into force On January 3 next and last until Marck 31, 1939. "In this, the first Dominion clispute in the industry, practically the whole of the matters to bc dealt with were unsettled, and despite two meetings oi the Conciliation Council, were referred to the Court," said a memorandum of the Court, attached to the award. * ' The union submitted extraordinarily detailed claims, including proposals affecting several branches of the industry not heretofore covered, and the wide divergence of views between the parties made the task of the Court more than unusually difficult. "As iu most disputes, the questions of greatest moment were those relating to hours of work and wages, but the framing of classificatlons for those branches of the industry not hitherto iovered required very careful consideration. "In dealing with the last mentioned .•natter the Court has endeavoured to keep the classificationa as simple as possible without doing injustice to any of the workers, and has therefore not followed the claims in detail. " As to hours of worK, while Ihe Court desires generally to adhero to previous decisions unless it is shown that changes have taken place in the industry,* it has- been impressed by- the evidence given on this occasion, and feels justified in departing to some extent from the hours fixed last year. The hours of work in the busy season have been retained, but the period over which the longest spread of hours shall operate has been reduced to a period which it is thought will conform generally to the busiest months of the SCclSOTL Longer Hours: Higher Wages. "With regard to wages, the Court has taken into consideration the fael that these workers work considerablj longer hours than most other faetory workers, and has granted increases aceordingly. While the eniployment generally has been reduced to a six-day week in lieu of the seven days workec prior to the passing of the Faetorie' Aniendment Aet, 1936, and additiona: ratcs are payable for Saturday afterno.ons, Sundays, and holidays, the facl that these workers have generally to work on these days has induced the Court to eontinue the provisions for annuai holidays which were previously in force. The remaining matters in dispute have been settled on the lines of previous awards. "Mr. A. L. Monteith (employees' representadve) wishes to say that he is not in agreement with a majoritv of the Court as to the hours of work fixed for cheese factories, nor as to the date of the coming into force of the award, which date he thinks should he December 1, 1937." Hours o£ Work. The hours of work are fixed in respect of the various establishraents co.vered by the award at various weekly maxima from 40 to 52 and provision is made for different weekly totals to he worked during drfferent months of the year, The National Dairy Awards Committee shall within li days of the coming into force of the award fix for the various industrial districts of New Zealand the months of the year during which the various sets of hours are to be worked. Except in the case of factories in which not more than two workers are regularly employed, no worker is to be employed in any faetory on more than six days in any one week. Special provision is made' for the exccptions to this clause.

Eight statutory holidays in the year are fixed. Every worker, ' other than casual workers, employed in a butter or cheese faetory who shall have worked for not less than eight months during the same season and for the sanie employer shall be entitled to, and shall receive, in the case of workers emploved in cheese factories or casein creani eries, three weeks' holiday on full pc and in the case of workers employed . all other factories subject to the pi visions of this award, two weeks' ho day on full pay; and a holiday of pn portionate duration shall be allow-e every worker who shall have worke less than eight months during the sani. season and -for the same employer bul not less than two momus. Sucb holidav shall be taken during the period known as the "off season" and at a time t> bo fixed by the employer. For the pur pose of this clause the season shall be deemed to commence on August 15 in the North Island," and on September 3 in the South Island. The period ot eight months' service may be broken or continuous s.o long as the total time i° worked within the 12 months of the aforesaid datcs. There is a complex wage scale in tho award, the weekly minimum ranging from £5 14s for first assistants in larger factories down to £4 10s for geueral workers. Overtime is to be pare! for at the rate of timo aud a-half foi tlie first four hours and double timo tliereafter, and provision is made foi extra pay for Saturday and Sundav work.