APPRENTICESHIPS

Hokitika Guardian, 30 August 1933, Page 8

APPRENTICESHIPS

SOME ANOMALIES. JUSTICE FRAZER’S COMMENT - AUCKLAND, August 28. The general revision of civil contracts undertaken by Parliament last year included a review of apprenticeship contracts, power being given to magistrates to amend, suspend, or cancel any; such contracts in force at the date of the passing of the Finance Act, May 10, 1032. Anomalous results that have followed that legislation and the exercise by magistrates of the jurisdiction conferred upon them, were discussed in the Arbitration Couit, when application was made for the amendment of a wages scale in a printing trades apprenticeship order of 1926.

The proceedings disclosed that by a general order of the court in 1931, wages in subsequent apprenticeship contracts were fixed at 10 per cent less than the rates specified by exising ofders. Under the 1932 legislation, reductions had been made in different industries, reductions by magistrates ranging from 15 to 50 per cent of basic rates; but these decisions do not affect contracts made since May 10, 1932. The president of the court, Mr Justice Frazer, ’ said amendment of the printing trades order would not entirely remove the anomaly in that industry. There would be one scale of Wages determined bv magistrates; a second operating in the case of contracts made after May 10, 1932*; arxl a' third fixed by. the proposed amendment..

His Honour said that in the present on tell work state of the legislation there was a further difficultyapparently there, was n 0 power, if business conditions improved, to increase wages during the terms of a contract; Whether Parliament would pass another amendment to enable this to be done, he did not know. “Tt is very difficult, with legislation as it now stands, td avoid creating anomalies,” his Houour added. “I should like' to see 'the whole question of pnorenticeshin dealt with again by Parliament, and pu on a sound basis. Tt 1 does not seem to be very satisfactory at present'.”"’