DRIVERS’ AWARD

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 November 1938, Page 8

DRIVERS’ AWARD

ISSUED BV SECOND COURT OF ARBITRATION GENERAL 5s A WEEK WAGE INCREASE. GRANTED BY MAJORITY DECISION. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. A general increase in wages of 5s a week, with smaller increases to juniors, is provided by the New Zealand Motor and Horse Drivers’ Award, which has been issued by the Second Court of Arbitration. The increase was granted by a majority decision of the Cc/irt, which decided unanimously to fix hours as in the expired award. Regarding wages, the parties had the pronouncement of the Court in the sugar workers’ dispute to guide them, =aid Mr Justice Hunter. The Court in that case had made a general increase of 5s per week, in line with the increase the Court proposed generally to award to adult weekly workers. “The Court has-been unable to see its way to agree to a 40 hour week for all drivers,” stated Mr Justice Hunter, “because this is an industry subsidiary to a large number of industries in some of which a longer week than forty hours is worked and the services of drivers must be available during the whole of such longer week. The hours clause follows the principle of ‘following the house’ and those drivers who at present work a lesser, number of hours than forty-four per week will continue to do so.” The Employees’ representative, Mr A. W. Croskery, dissented from the majority decision of the Court in restricting the increase in wages to the 5s increase' for weekly workers as set out in the memorandum to the sugar workers' award. He stated that a general 5s increase to weekly workers, without giving any consideration to hours of work, completely denied the workers’ right to maintain the relative position in which they had been working under other awards. If drivers’ wages had been all assessed on the same relative consideration as was adopted by Mr Justice Fraser in 1924 and 1925, continued Mr Croskery, the lowest-paid driver today should receive a weekly wage of £5 2s 8d for his 44 hour week in order to maintain his relative position with the labourer. The minimum wages fixed in part 1 of the award, applying to workers other than those engaged in goods transport services operating under the Transport Licensing Act, are as follows: — Driving and attending one horse, £4 13s; two horses, £4 16s; more than two, 6d a day or 2s 6d a week for each additional horse. Driving any motor vehicle up to two tons, with load, including motor cycles and tri-cars,’ £4 16s; two tons to four tons, £4 18s 6d; four to five and a half tons, £5 Is; 5£ tons to ten tons, £5 ss; over tsn tons, £5 Bs. Tractors, not otherwise specified and used with trailers, £5. Small motor rollers, £4 16s; motor-driven implements used on construction, maintenance or formation work, 2s 61d an hour. Wages for youths driving horses range from £2 7s 6d from 18 tc 19 years, to £3 4s from 20 to 21. On motor vehicles they range from £2 12s 6d to £3 9s 6d. For goods service drivers the minimum weekly rates and overtime rates, according to the weight of the vehicle, are as follow: —Up to one ton, £4 18s 3d; one to two tons, £5 Is 3d; two to 41 tons, £5 3s 6d; 41 to (Ij tons, £5 7 s 3d; over 6£ tons, £5 10s 3d. For youths, the weekly rate ranges from £2 15s to £3 14s 6d and overtime from Is 8d to 2s 3d. The award will operate from October 31 last to October 31, 1939.