MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 52, Issue 32307, 1 September 1943, Page 5

MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —It is very unfortunate that Mr A. S. Richards ( (government member, KosKill), snould nave again maae statements in regard to the Motion picture industry which do not tell tnc whole story and therefore give distorted views of the position. Such ! statements made under the privilege of Parliamentary debate cannot be challenged at tne time and therefore go out as statements of fact and are misleading to the public. In the •’Evening Post” of August 14, Mr Richards is reported to have stated that he was going to press for I a full enquiry into the picture industry, one of the grounds stated being that the employers recently asked the majority of their employees to work an extra three or four hours a day without extra pay. He further stated that subsequently under pressure they graciously consented to offer 6d extra for the odd hour. The facts of the case are as follows:— Theatre workers (projectionists excluded) are covered by four awards. (1) the Northern Award, (2) the Taranaki, Wellington, Marlborough, Canterbury, Southland Award, (3) the Nelson, Westland Award, (4) the Otago Award. Recently the employees covered iby the first two Awards cited the employers in a dispute for a new award. There are two types of workers covered by these awards, namely, performance workers who are paid per performance, and weekly workers who are paid by the week. In the Northern Award (the one referred to by Mr Richards), performance workers do a minimum of three hours’ work for 5s 6d plus cost of living bon - secure a Dominion award, to standworkers do a maximum of four hours for 5s 6d plus bonuses. The employers are anxious to sesure a Dominion award, to standardise rates of pay and conditions. With this in view it was suggested that the payment in the Northern District should be the same as the rest of New Zealand, namely, 5s 6d plus bonuses for a maximum four-hour period.

The Conciliation Council met in Auckland on Wednesday, August 11, when this matter was under discussion. The counter proposals submitted by the representatives of the employees were 2s per hour with a minimum of two hours and a maximum of four hours which would have meant that the performance worker in Auckland working three hours (as at present) would have received 6s which would have given them increased payment of 6d per performance. Evidently this must be what Mr Richards refers to as the “gracious” offer of 6d for the odd Hour made by the employer. The understanding of the employers is that Conciliation Council proceedings are confidential, but evidently Mr Richards has no scruples in using matters discussed in council to create a false impression. However, the point to be made here is that the employees made the offer of the increase of 6d per performance and not the employers. In point of fact, only a small proportion of performance workers work the maximum hours on any occasion.

' Mr Richards’ outburst was not unexpected, as during’ Conciliation Council proceedings, the trade union secretary threatened that the matter would be ventilated on the floor of the House.

The very mysterious way of finding out where new shopping centres are likely to be situated, as referred to by Mr Richards, is for any interested enquirer to visit the office of the planning departments of the various councils. As picture theatres are considered by their owners to be just as much a part of community life as butchers, bakers, etc., they naturally make enquiries. He goes on to say that one concern owned 129 picture houses. Maybe Mr Richards would see his way clear to be more definite in his statement and advise the public just what concern he was referring to, as this association has no knowledge of such a circuit. The Minister’s reply covered this point in that there is in existence a Film Industry Board, the chairman of which is Mr W. F. Stilwell, S.M., and this board is advisory to the minister, and furthermore, a Labour Member of Parliament has been a member of this board since its inception, so there should be no difficulty in Mr Richards securing all the facts of the case from his colleague in the House. When this matter was previously raised in the House, the New Zealand Motion Picture Exhibitors’ Association (Inc.) wrote and asked the Prime Minister for a complete enauirv into the allegations then made bv Messrs A. S. Richards, M.P., and J. Robertson

M. and the public can be assured, that the industry will welcome any enquiry that the Government cares to institute provided it is presided! over by a stipendiary magistrate or a judge of the Supreme Court. —I am, etc., C. R. EDMOND, Dominion Secretary. N. Motion Picture Exhibitors’ Assn., (Inc.). Wellington, August 18.