WEEKLY HALF-HOLIDAY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8431, 1 May 1907, Page 6

WEEKLY HALF-HOLIDAY.

(To the Editor)

Sir, —As there seems to be some misconception in the minds of retail traders as to how the recent decision of the Minister of Labour, to strictly enforce the clauses of the Factories Act as regards the half-holiday for factory hands will affect ' them, may I ask you to publish the following particulars:—Under the Factories Act the Saturday holiday refers only to boys under 18 and women, and the Act states clearly they must be given I a holiday on Saturday as from 1 o'clock- An anomaly in the Act is that in the interpretation clauses a boy is described as a male under 16 years of age, whilst in the holiday clauses it states that he must be under 18. Under this, Act women and boys (presumably under 16) must not work for more than 45 hours, excluding meal times, per week, or for more than 8J hours, excluding meal. times, in any one day. The Saturday half-holiday, which is the bone of contention, refers to women and boys only, but the Shops and Offices Act says that in the case of a shop and factory combined, where the ernSployee is engaged in both departments, the employee is to be deemed to be ■ employed exclusively in that part of the establishment in which he \or she) is chiefly employed as certified by "the Inspector, but only for the purposes of wages and the weekly half-holiday. Therefore in these cases it will be necessary for proprietors to obtain a certificate lrom the Inspector that the employee is chiefly a shop hand, and they may still be given their holiday on Thursday, as they will be con sidered as coming under the Shop Act. The hours which may be worked under the Shop Act are 52 in any one week, excluding meal times, and not more than nine hours in any one day, excluding meal times, except on one day of the week, when they may work eleven hours, the-weekly halfholiday to be on the statutory day for the district. I would draw traders' attention to the fact that although in combined establishments it is possible to bring some of the employees under the Shops Act so far as the holiday is concerned, they will still be working under the Factories Act as regards the Lumber of hours worked. The hours worked under both Acts are subject to alteration by an award of the Arbitration Court affecting any particular trade. Thanking you in anticipation. I am, etc. S. E. WRIGHT, Sec. Wairarapa Employers' Association. Masterton, April 30th.