HARDWARE ASSISTANTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1018, 8 July 1930, Page 14

HARDWARE ASSISTANTS

NEW AWARD RATES OF WAGES OBJECTION TO ONE CLAUSE The rates of wages under the new award of the Auckland Hardware Assistants, on which an agreement has been reached on all clauses except one, which was considered by the Arbitration Court today, have been settled as under: Boys under 16 to start at 15s a week and rise by annual increments to £4 5s in the sixth year; boys between 10 and 17 and 17 and IS to start at 20s a week and by annual increments rise to £4 5s in the sixth year; boys between IS and 19 start at 30s a week and rise by annual increments to £ 4 5s in the sixth year; boys 19 and over start at 40s a week and rise by increments to £4 5s in the sixth year. First assistants receive £4 15s.

The clause on which the parties disagreed was the following, proposed by the employers:—“That employment shall bo deemed to be weekly employment. and no deduction shall be made from the weekly wage, except for time lost through the worker’s sickness or his absence from work, through no fault of the employer.”

On behalf of the employers, Mr. S. E. Wright said the clause was common to most awards and was a protection to the worker besides the employer, and also safeguarded the employer against malingering. He said that no unfair advantage had been taken under the clause in the past. For the union, Mr. W. Miller said that the latter portion of the proposed clause was objected to. He argued that, in view of the fact that no deductions had been made in the past in cases of genuine sickness, the clause in the old award should be reinstated. He claimed that the suggested clause extended a little farther than was reasonable and he contended it would be unfair to tack it on to the hardware assistants.

Mr. Justice Frazer announced the court would reserve its decision.