Girls Who Serve in Restaurants

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 31, 6 February 1937, Page 4

Girls Who Serve in Restaurants

Proprietors Protest At Limited Hours PROSECUTION ADJOURNED PENDING DEPUTATION TO MINISTER Per Press Association. DUNEDIN, Last Night. That the law which precluded restaurant proprietors from employing female assistants from 10.30 p.in. was a most unjust one, was the opinion expressed in the City Police Court by Mr J. S. Sinclair during tho hearing of a charge of employing a female assistant after this hour. « Defendant was Phillip Barling who pleaded guilty. Defendant, Air. Binclair said, was not wilfully defying the law. Other restaurants were breaking this most unjust law and the worst offender was the Government itself. During the holidays the railways restaurants were open through tho whole night and girls were employed during that time and not just for ten minutes or u-quarter of an hour after 10.30. The Government, in effect, realised the impracticability of enforcing the regula tion. Tho Magistrate: I do not know w r hethcr the Act applies to railway restaurants or not. Air. Sinclair: But surely these restaurants arc not exempt. Restaurantkeepers, Air. Bine lair continued, were placed in a difficult position. The law did not say that their premises must be closed at 10.30. It simply said that female assistants must not be employed after that hour. This created an im possible situation as male assistants could not be procured and if employers could not keep girls on for a quarter of an hour, after 10.30, they might as well closo up business. The after-pic-ture trade was their best source of

“I appreciate the difficulty,” observed his Worship, “but I must take the law as it is.” Air. Binclair said that tho matter was a serious one for restaurants. His client was not the only offender. Other big restaurants did it and if they did not they must go to tho wall. If the Minister fully considered tho question he would no doubt see the injustice of the law. As u matter of fact, restaurant proprietors from all parts of tho Dominion proposed joining in a deputation to interview the Minister and ask that tho matter be reviewed. In fairness to his client, therefore, counsel asked that, pending this deputation, the Labour Department agree to an adjournment. This particular law had not been enforced for 16 years. Air. A. J. Haub, who represented the department, said that prosecutions under tho soction had taken place in 1928, 1931 and 1935. He did not think, however, that the department would offer any objection to au adjournment as suggested by Air. Binclair. The hearing was adjourned sine die to be brought.on at three days’ notice