The Factories Bill.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 180, 25 July 1901, Page 3

The Factories Bill.

Christchurch, July 22. The Factories BUI was considered to-night by a committee of the Canterbury Employers’ Association, and a number of resolutions were carried. In clause 18, referring to hours of work, it was pointed out that the Arbitration Court had determined that the conditions of various industries, more particularly competitive ones, could not be successfully maintained working fewer thm4B hours per week. In clause 19, the overtime proposals were considered impractb cable, as they did not provide for the exigencies of the trade. It was impossible to avoid overtime in certain trades at certain seasons, and the penalties provided by the Arbitration Court awards were sufficient to discourage the practice* Clause 30, providing payment to a worker when producing nothing, would constitute such a serious tax upon.competitive in-

dostries that they, would be unable to bear the payment for the six holidays and the 52 halfholidays allowed duriftg the year. These were equivalent to five weeks and 36 hours per year, < r II per cent, of a surcharge on the labour cost. Section 2, clause 21, read literally, meant that a man discharged from employment after five days 1 service was entitled to claim payment for a number of succeeding halfholidays and statutory holidays. Clause 35 was unnecessary, as penalties were already provided in existing Acts.