DAIRY FACTORIES

Hokitika Guardian, 14 April 1930, Page 2

DAIRY FACTORIES

NEW AWARD ISSUED

SUGGESTION FOR FUTURE

Few departures from the old award were made by the Arbitration Couvu n. the award issuc ; d yesterday governing conditions in butter and cheese factories and creameries. Certain provision, were agreed to in the Conciliatioi Council and the court regarded th present time as inopportune for mak ing changes whnli would have ,th effect of increasing costs of production In a memorandum to the award M Justie Frazer said the principal ma. ..cr in dispute was hours of work. 11. Court recognised that the hours < wont during the busy season wei longer than those worked in other i dusties and it recognised also th; they were spread over a. seven-day week. Though those disadvantage were to some extent compensate for by the provision of considerabl shorter hours during the slack season and bv the granting of holiday leav on full pay, the Court would prefer, i it could see its way to do so, to spreathe daily hours more evenly over th whole season and to allow a day of each week to each worker. WOULD INCREASE COSTS.

In the smaller factories a real dil ficu]ty was involved in arranging for i weekly day off during the busy season and in many of the larger iactorie there would be an increase in costs. Ii view of the present condition of th dairy-produce market, the Court rea. 1 ised that the present time was inop portune for making any material alter ation in the conditions under which tin factories were working. It had, how ever, decided to fix a short term fo' the currency of the present award (tc February 23, 1931), and hoped tha ii the market improved before another award was applied tor the parties would concentrate their efforts on flu framing of a system' of working whitl would eliable a six-days’ week to lx worked. It was recognised, of course that the factories must, in most cases, work on seven days a week, but i ought to be possible to arrange fc mutual concessions that would enable the workers to have a weekly day off without unduly increasing the costs ol production. A majority of the Court had amended the classification of workers in the smaller cheese factories, to conform to the classification existing in the Northern and Otago and Southland districts. Mr Schmitt desired to record a dissent in that matter. With that one exception the award was concurred in by all the members of the Court.