EARLY HOURS FOR GIRLS AND BOYS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 181, 21 October 1927, Page 9

EARLY HOURS FOR GIRLS AND BOYS

SHOPS AND RESTAURANTS SWEETS AFTER THE MOVIES Press Association. WELLINGTON, To-day. No matter how serious is the legislation before Parliament members always manage to remain on the light side of the debate if the mood assails them. They certainly made the best of the Shops and Offices Amendment Bill which was considered in committee this evening, and upon which a great deal of discussion centred. Much was said of hours of work for girls, who found champions in unexpected quarters of the House. Mr. J. S. Dickson, senior Government Whip, sprang into the breach alongside his political opponents, Labour members, and declared his advocacy of the female assistants’ cause, while Labour members themselves became passionate in denunciation of the tyranny of restaurant-keepers, and insisted upon the shortening of evening hours of work. Mr. R. McKeen, Wellington South, expressed the view that 10.30 p.m. was too late for boy and female labour to work, and moved to alter the Bill to provide for such assistants to cease work at 9.30 p.m. except on Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The Minister explained that provision was made for the benefit of shops selling confectionery and soft drinks. Mr. J. Dickson said that they had been fighting for years to get earlier closing for shops, and now' that the closing hours for general shops had been fixed at 5.30, it was proposed to take the retrograde step of increasing the hours for these particular shops. He hoped that Mr. McKeen’s amendment would be accepted. Mr. Anderson said that in all four centres, and a number of smaller towns there was a large number of small shops which sold soft drinks and were generally looked upon as “marble bars.” They had confectionery on one side and soft drinks on the other. Girls who were selling soft drinks stayed till 10.30 under the present law', but girls who sold confectionery, left at 9.30, and that side of the shop was closed and the shopkeeper and public were inconvenienced. Mr. Anderson assured the House that he merely wished to give legal effect to what was practised to-day. The position would not be altered by the Bill. He promised to redraft a clause, when the Bill w’ent to the Council, to provide that girls in restaurants section cease work at 10.30, and those in confectionery at 9.30. Mr. McKeen withdrew' his amendment.