ARBITRATION COURT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 125, 17 November 1911, Page 5

ARBITRATION COURT.

INVERCARGILL SITTINGS. By Telegraph—Press Association. ' livercargill, Last Night The Arbitration Court had a busy day I and continued its sitting this evening. [ The Inspector of Awards asked for ,' an interpretation of the award gtvtw ing the sawmilling industry. A man had; been employed by the Southland Saw- * milling Co. as assistant yardman until last January, when he was put on tailing , out at the breaking-up bench. The ifcpartment contended that while performing this work the man was doing work as a tailer-out, for which, he was entitled to 9s a dav, but he had been paid only 6«. (Mr. W. Pryor contended that Anderson had not been employed as a tailerout, but as an assistant henchman, for which he was entitled to only 8s a day. His Honor said that the inspector was not entitled to succeed. The Conciliation Council's agreement in the case, Blurt' waterside workers ••-. Union Company and others, was made an award. An objection made by Mr. Pryor, to having the harbor board joined was upheld. Awards were also made of agreement in the cases of Slaughtermen's Union, carpenters and joiners, and Bluff shed hands. In the case, General Laborers' Union v. Borough Council and others, the wages clause in the men's claim kid pot keen agreed to, and the union appealed to the court. Mr. Glass, in support of the claim, said that the average loss of time per year for various reasons was 75 days for laborers, so that even if a man were paid 9s per day he averaged only Os Od. Incidentally, he mentioned that figures taken from the Labor Department Journal showed that the cost of 30 articles in Wellington to be £3 2s lid, as against £3 7s 10y a d in Invercargill. Rents were also going up by leaps and bounds. Mr. Pryor asked that the harbor board bei exempted, and that the ■ award be based on that ruling in Dunedin. Invercargill, he said, was a comparatively cheap town to live in.

Decision was reserved. The court also reserved its decision in applications for awards by building laborers, road contractors and local bodies laborers, drivers and gas works employees. The points in dispute in all cases were increase in wages. In the gas works case, Mr. Pryor objected to the Gas Works Union being incorporated with the general body of kbjtrers in view of the possible effects of a general strike.