SHOPS INQUIRY

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 984, 29 May 1930, Page 8

SHOPS INQUIRY

INVESTIGATION BY COMMITTEE AUCKLAND SITTING CONCLUDES The special committee set up by Parliament to investigate the working of the Shops and Offices Act concluded its sitting in Auckland yesterdaj* morning. Mr. C. H. Clinkard presided The Retail Shop Assistants’ Union and the Grocers’ Assistants’ Union gave evidence and asked for various amendments, including:—(l) Uniform closing of shops at 5.30 p.m. on five days a week and at noon on Saturdays; (2) the deletion of the present provision allowing of the employment of assistants for 15 minutes after the closing of the shop; (3) a 44-hours week and a maximum of eight hours’ work a day; (4) a minimum wage of 255, rising to 55s a week, and a minimum overtime payment of Is 3d an hour; (5) the deletion of the provision allowing of the changing of the halfholiday to coincide with a public holiday in any week when two public holidays occur; (6) provision that where a public holiday falls on a worker’s usual half-holiday, the worker shall be given the half-holiday on another day. The Auckland Butchers’ Union asked for an alteration of the definition of the trade of a pork butcher, so as to make it compulsory for all shops selling fresh meat of any kind to close at an hour prescribed by Statute. The union also asked for more stringent provision regarding overtime, to prevent unfair competition. The committee will hold a short sitting in Rotorua today to deal with the special holiday requirements of that district, and will then return to Wellington to complete the hearing of evidence and prepare its report.