DRIVERS’ AWARD

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 November 1938, Page 5

DRIVERS’ AWARD

DEPUTATION INTERVIEWS PREMIER J FEDERATION OF LABOUR REPRESENTED. VIEWS OF UNIOTj OFFICIALS. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. Following strong expressions of disapproval from its affiliations against the new award, a deputation from- the New Zealand Drivers’ Federation, acting in conjunction with the New Zealand Federation of Labour, waited on the Prime Minister yesterday afternoon and outlined the grievances of the men. The secretary of the drivers’ federation, Mr F. C. Allerby, stated subsequently that negotiations with the Government were still in progress. The conference with the Prime Minister was not open to the Press. A special meeting has been called by the Wellington Drivers’ Union for Monday night to consider the award and the subsequent developments. A similar meeting will be held in Auckland tomorrow.

Commenting on the award, Mr L. G. Matthews, secretary of the Auckland Drivers’ Union, said that while on this occasion the court had followed the sugar workers’ precedent in fixing the wages, since the sugar workers’ dispute and before the issue of the drivers’ award the court had made other awards in which the sugar workers’ precedent in regard to wages had not been followed. The shop assistants, for instance, had been given an increase of 7s 6d. The passenger transport and service car drivers, whose case was parallel to that of the general drivers, had been awarded an increase of 10s a week, with an extra week’s holiday compared with those given in their previous award. “While we are prepared to admit,” said Mr Matthews, “that a number of drivers are subsidiary to other industries, it will take more than the court to convince drivers of the aerated water manufacturers that they are subsidiary to anything. As the aerated water factories work a 40-hour week it is only logical for us to expect that their drivers should have received the same hours.”

NO'STEP MEANTIME. THE POSITION IN DUNEDIN. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) DUNEDIN, November 4. "Though members of the Otago Drivers’ Union are' certainly dissatisfied with the wages and hours prescribed in the new motor and horse drivers’ award announced on Thursday, there is no possibility of a strike taking place in the meantime,” said the secretary of the Otago union, Mr H. Brown, when asked to confirm or deny a rumour that was current in some quarters today that the Otago drivers had decided to strike. “The union is certainly going to take some action.” Mr Brown added, “but nothing vzill be done until after Tuesday night, when a special meeting of (he union will be held. There will be representatives of the Otago Trades Council and the Federation of Labour at the meeting, at which the whole position will be fully discussed and a course of action decided upon. This decision, of course, will be referred to the New Zealand union for approval. “In the meantime it is most unlikely that any step will be taken, by Dunedin drivers to show their disapproval of the new award.”