Clerical Workers Seek Award

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 22, 27 January 1937, Page 9 (Supplement)

Clerical Workers Seek Award

Difference of Opinion On Wages Question CONCILIATION COUNCIL REACHES agreement on several MATTERS. An application for an award for clerical workers in the Wellington Industrial District, outside a 25-milo radius of Wellington city, was the subject of conciliation proceedings which were commenced in Palmerston North yesterday and arc to be continued today. No agreement could be reached yesterday on the matter of wages, and unless a satisfactory conclusion can be come to to-day, the question will have to be referred to the Court of Arbitration to decide, along with any other disputed matters. The employers are seeking two separate wage scales —for towns above and below a population of 5000 respectively —and this is opposed by the union. Mr. M. J. Reardon (Conciliation Commissioner) presided, while the partie* were represented by the following assessors: Employers, Messrs D. E. Dustin (Wanganui), P. B. Desmond (Feilding) and R. H. Billens (Palmers ton North); employees, Miss M. Peter sen (Palmerston North) and Messrs W A. Stewart (Masterton) and R. Hog gard (Wellington). Mr. S. L McKenzie (Palmerston North) acted as advocate for the employers and Mr. W. N. Pharazyn (Wellington) for the employees. Stock and Station Agents. Application for exemption from the scope of the award was made on behalf of stock and station agents, it being stated that their employees were cover ed by a registered agreement that might be turned into an award. Mr. Pharazyn said the Clerical Workers’ Union held that the agreement was a bogus one. Registration as an award of a previous agreement had successfully been contested, and a similar application in regard to the present agreement was being opposed next month. On the Commissioner’s suggestion, it was agreed to refer the matter of the inclusion of stock and station agents to the Arbitration Court. Application was also made for exemption by various shipping interests, and in cases where the business of the objectors was solely shipping, they were struck out from the list of the parties, as they are already covered by an agreement. Cases of a borderline nature—those where the firms wero handling other business as well—were referred to the Court. Firms having a meat export or slaughtering license were removed from the list, as these are already covered by an award of their own. On behalf of the Local Body Work ers* Union, Mr. G. M. Renner (Wellington) applied for the striking out of borough councils, town boards, county councils and harbour boards, this being agreed to. Borough councils are already covered by other legislation, while steps are being taken to provide for the others. Mr. Pharazyn said the Clerical Workers* Union reserved the right to cite the latter bodies again if no agreement was come to in their case. After dealing with a number of other applications to be struck out, the major ity being from non-employers of clerical labour, the council proceeded to consideration of the union’s claims and the employers’ counter-claims. The Commissioner said it seemed to him that the dispute could be settled in a quarter of an hour. He suggested to the union that it could not expect the employers in the contry districts to pay higher rates than the Court had recently awarded for Wellington, and unless the employers could show that some of the conditions asked by the union were not suitable for places outside the bigger centres, he did not think that they would be able to obtain any' concession. Statement for Employees. The following statement was then made by Mr. Pharazyn:— ‘‘ The Wellington Clerical Workers Union has secured an award effective from January 4 and covering Wellington city and a 25-milo radius. The object of applying for this restricted award first was to enable both the Wellington city employers and employees and those outside Wellington the fullest opportunity to discuss their particular problems in Conciliation Council. The Wellington city award is the first general award for clerical workers ever secured in New Zealand. While wc recognise that it gives a much needed increase in the wages of the majority of clerks, whose wages hitherto have been less than those of manual labourers, we wish to emphasise the fact that this award is by no means satisfactory. There are many points which require modification in favour of the employees; particularly is this so in the case of the rates of wages laid down for women. The award was issued just before Christmas at a time when the Arbitration Court was dealing with a-greater number of industrial points than ever before in its whole history. ‘‘lt is therefore not with the object of criticising the Court that we poiut out that tho award has many defects, for wo recognise the extreme difficulty of making au award to cover all typos of clerical wprk. The rates of wages and the conditions granted to clenca workers, however; arc not sr.cb as would accord with the weight of the evidence submitted. For example, the vast majority of office workers havo l’or years been granted an annual holiday of _«t least J 4 days, whereas tho award grants only seven. Were the Court to reconsider Our case when less pressed for time, we have no doubt that we should secure better conditions all round. This contention is supported by the following facts concerning awards of the Court made at about the same |pe as ours. •♦ln re/rard to watersiders the Court

recently gave a judgment for a 44-hour week for the watersiders; but the shipowners in a subsequent conference agreed to a special overtime payment on Saturday, thus in effect agreeing to a 40-hour standard week. The Court fixed a rate of wages at 2s 4d per hour, the 1931 rate, but a subsequent agreement fixed a rate of 2s Bd. As to cooks and stewards, the Court fixed a 50-hour week for coastal workers employed in ships. The shipowners subsequently agreed on a 48-hour week and an eighthour day in place of a nine-hour day.

‘ ‘ These cases show that the Court has been on the conservative rather than on the progressive side in declaring its awards; that it has lagged behind the intentions of the Government to raise the living standards of all workers for thi3 reason, and bearing in mind the continued increase in industrial pros perity, the uniou stands to gain by u second appeal to the Court. Nevertheless, we realise that such, appeals take up much time and are upsetting to employers’ businesses; and it is essential that employers should know as soon as possible just what their obligations towards their employees, under the new industrial laws, are. Offer of Agreement. “We therefore submit, in place of our original claims, tho Wellington (25-milo radius) Clerical Workers’ (General) Award and are prepared to come to a complete agreement on this basis forthwith,” Mr. Pharazyn added. ‘‘This will be in accordance with the pronouncement of the Court in favour of consolidating awards and favouring Dominion and larger area awards rather than local ones. We further suggest, with a view to assisting the work of tho Court and simplifying procedure generally, that the term of the proposed new Wellington Industrial District (with the exception of the Wellington City 25-mile radius) Award should be made the same as that of the Wellington (25-mile radius) Award, namely, until January 3, 1938.

‘‘The alternative, if we cannot secure agreement on this basis, is to discuss each clause in Conciliation Council, which will be a long proceeding, and to submit to the Court at its next sitting those points on which we fail to secure agreement. In that case the union accessors will go most exhaustively into ovary detail with the object of correct ing in the new award those points in the existing one, such as the inadequate wages of senior women who may at present be placed over men earning a great deal more money, with which we are dissatisfied. We should also raise the question of holidays and such points as allowances for transfers and emplo ment away from homo and payment for sick leave—and we shall endeavour to obtain much more rigid hours and overtime clauses, since in this respect employers at present are hardly restricted at all. ‘‘However, we would ask the employers* assessors, in this case, not to compel us to take this course. They will recognise that tho tendency in the past has been for Wellington unions to ignore the districts outside the city and to seek rather to attach tho employers in those districts to an award negotiated in Wei lington, as to which they have been only very nominally consulted. We would ask some consideration for the procedure we have adopted, a procedure which we believe to be fairer and more satisfactory, but which certainly takes more time and is much more costly. ‘‘We assure employers that if they will co-operate with us in endeavouring to give effect to the Government’s new industrial legislation we will do our level best to meet the many special difficulties which we know must arise. We recognise that office work is not like manual work and that an award cannot be applied with quite tho same rigidity; there must be a certain amount of give and take on both sides, but if employers will try to observe the spirit of the new award, we on our side will do all we can to help them. Our first suggestion is that you should save yourselves and us time and trouble by agreeing forthwitn to the extension of the Wellington city award. ” Following the Court’s Lead. The Commissioner said he felt sure a short cut to a settlement would be to accept what was a very recent decision of the Court. Except by mutual consent, he did not think there would be any modification of any clauses in the particular award if tho matter were referred to the Court. An adjournment was then taken to allow the employers* assessors to consider the suggestions put forward. On tho resumption, Mr. McKenzie said tho employers* representatives felt there were some points that required discussion, lie pointed out to the union assessors that the wages named in an award were only a minimum. Mr. Pharazyn had used tho case of watersiders as an illustration, but the speaker poiuted out that their work was only casual and was governed by and shipping conditions. Clerical workers did not have any lost time. Hours of work were a matter for each individual industry. The cost of living was cheaper in the country districts, and for that reason the employers suggested two sets of wages. If the small em- | plovers of clerical labour were forced I to pay higher wages, they would probably have to do the work themselves or . give it to a public accountant. ! Sneaking in regard to the employers’ desire for more than one scale of wages, Mr. Billens said that consideration had been given to the smaller centres and businesses in seme awards. The latter Lad to work on a narrower margin and in the smaller towns were often workerowner businesses. Tho workers, on the other hand, had considerable advantages over those in the cities—rents were cheaper and there were no transport charges, while in other respects the cost of living was just as cheap as in the cities. In the printing industry these facts had" been'recognised in the granting of separate wage scales. The margiu of profit iu some of the small busi nesses had been reduced almost to the \anishing point, and if they went out of existence, the smaller towns would go with them. “Shamefully Treated in the Past.” Replying to the point that the wage? in an award were only a minimum, Mr. Pharazyn said employers did not pay one penny more than they had to.

Clerical workers had been shamefully j treated in the past. He could not accept tho argument that the cost of living was lower in the country, and did not feel justified in agreeing to anything below what the Court had already granted in tho case of Wellington clerical workers.

Tho Commissioner said Parliament had decreed that wages should bo increased and conditions improved, as part of its policy of rehabilitation, and i; j seemed to him that the duty of those present at the proceedings was to follow tho direction of Parliament. By legislation, a 40-hour week must be awarded, : unless it could be shown that such was not practicable. In regard to wages, he did not think the employers could get away from what had been laid down by the Arbitration Court, and while the; might not tako it with good grace, he thought the decision in Wellingto: should be accepted. ‘‘Nothing we have suggested . runs contrary to the decision of tho Government or the spirit of the decision,” stated Mr. Billens. “ What we are asking is more than compensated for by the difference in the cost of living.”

Tho union representatives retired to consider whether they could meet the wishes of the employers in regard to wages, and on their returning, Mr. Pharazyn announced that they had decided they would not be justified in undermining tho arrangements made by the Court.

With no agreement possible at this stage on the question of wages, the council proceeded to discuss conditions, tho Commissioner observing that, when these matters were disposed of, the council might be able to return to th wages question and come to an agreement.

Hours and overtime were discussed, and several proposals agreed to. The proceedings were then adjourned until to-day