SHOP HOURS EXEMPTIONS

Taranaki Daily News, 20 November 1926, Page 15

SHOP HOURS EXEMPTIONS

PRESENT ACT UNWORKABLE ZONE SYSTEM PREFERABLE. VIEWS OF ARBITRATION COtfRT. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Auckland, Last Night. “I wish they would have the Shops and Offices Act amended so as to remove this exemption business from this court altogether,” said Mr. Justice Frazer in the Arbitration Court, in dealing with several applications by shopkeepers for permission to observe other than the prescribed hours of business. “It seems to be getting worse and worse,” continued the judge. “How wo are expected to know the circumstances of every ehopkeeper in the country I can’t understand. I wish business people and the workers would get together and have this wretched section repealed, or handed over to the magistrates, or something. We get applications from Waipukurau and Maungatapere and all sorts of places about which we know nothing. It is becoming a positive curse and all the members of thia court are getting tired of it.” None of the applications before the court was supported by the shopkeepers in person, but two of them sent in letters explaining their reasons. One writer stated that he enclosed a money order tor 3s and trusted the conrt would favourably consider his application. “That is not a .bribe,” explained His Honour, pausing as he read. “It is only the customary fee.” Mr. W. E. Sill, who appeared for the Butchers’ Union to oppose another application, said he held that the court had no jurisdiction to deal with it. “I sincerely hope you are right,” rejoined the judge.

His Honour went on to suggest that the Act should be amended by defining city zones in which shops might keep open till 5.30 p.m., suburban zones in which they might keep open till 6 p.m.. and rtmntry zones with no limitation except of the hours within which assistants might be employed. If this were done, he said, it should be possible to abolish exemptions altogether. He supposed that Labour organisations did not oppose the small shopkeeper who was attempting to get out of what some of them called the “wage slave” class, though probably it would be better if some of these shopkeepers were working for someone else.

The object of the Act was to ensure that small suburban shops should, be allowed to keep their own proper class of business without trenching on that of others. Clearly, if a shopkeeper were compelled to close at 5.30 p.m., when most of his customers were working people living near, who could not return from tho city by that hour, he was being prevented from carrying on his proper business. Mr. S. E. Wright, representing the Employers’ Association, smilingly suggested that the court might make the awards prescribe the hours of work that were specified in the Shops and Offices Aet.

His Honour: No. The Act should tie amended. We eannot administer it. We are only tinkering with it. If the parties will get together and start a movement to have it altered, they will have our sincerest blessing.