I. 9a.

102

T. LONG.

not more than three assistants are employed, shall be entitled to a half-holiday from 2 o'clock in the afternoon of such working-day in each week as the occupier in the case (if each assistant thinks fit." Also subsection (5), section 27: "Every assistant employed in or about a hotel or restaurant, other than assistants to whom the last preceding subsection applies, shall be entitled to a whole holiday of twenty-four hours, commencing at his usual hour for commencing work; on such day of the week as the occupier in the case of each assistant thinks tit.'" I shall colitent myself by making one or two brief remarks on these subsections. First, that subsection (4) does not show clearly enough that it is intended that bar-assistants, both male and female, should have a full Sunday off in addition to their half-day. We believe that it is the intention of the Minister that this should be so, and therefore draw his and your attention to this fact. We strongly object also to any exemption in the case of licensed hotelkeepers in regard to the full day off provided for in subsection (5) of section 27, and believe that, in view of the evidence given by the hotelkeepers' representatives, that they oppose any exemption of any kind, and further admitted by them that the hotelkeepers who could claim exemption under subsection (5) have stated emphatically that they do not desire it (see the evidence of Messrs. Norden and Payne, two representatives of the New Zealand Licensed Victuallers' Association). Xow, I desire to draw your attention to the fact that several hotelkeepers have been giving the full day a week and over. For instance, at the United Service Hotel, Auckland, there are eleven servants employed, seven of whom work five days per week and the other four six days per week. This statement I can make on oath if necessary, for not only i.s it confirmed by the staff themselves, but I have further confirmed it at the request of the licensee by examining his books. 1 would further draw your attention to the fact that Volume xiii, page '520, of the Book of Awards, which provides for a half-holiday for hotel workers, was considered by the Waiwera Hotel Company to be unworkable, inasmuch as the bulk of their business was week-end trippers, and therefore it was impossible that the servants could get a Sunday afternoon off. Acting on my suggestion, they wrote to the union, and a committee was set up to confer with the representatives of the owners, the result of which is published in Volume xiii, page 1015 : — " Agreement arrived at between the Auckland Hotel and Restaurant Employees' Industrial Union of Workers on the one hand, and the Waiwera Hotel Company (Limited) (in liquidation) on the other; the provisions of the agreement to be in substitution of clause 2, Award No. 2530, Vol. xiii, Part IV, Book of Awards. Clause '1 shall then read :' As provided for in the Shops and Offices Act, and in lieu of the alternate Sunday half-holiday, a half-holiday shall be given on the day of the usual half-holiday, which shall then mean a full twenty-four hours off every alternate week. This alteration shall only apply to the summer season commencing Ist December and ending 30th April in each year during the currency of the present award.' ' In lieu of foregoing, the Sunday half-holiday provided under the award for a half-day every other Sunday; in lieu of that the Waiwera hotelkeepers agreed to give us in the week a half-holiday in addition to the ordinary weekly half-day. 1 may mention this particular fact: it has not been responsible in this case for any increase in the staff getting the full day off. It will be seen by the agreement that once a fortnight every servant had a full day off, half of which was the Sunday afternoon forfeited under the agreement and given as an addition to the weekly half-holiday. The hardship described by the hotelkeepers as the effect of giving the full day a week off is mostly imaginary, as provision is made in the most of our awards whicli will to a very large extent overcome the difficulties so graphically described. Clause 22 of the Auckland Hotel Employees' award (Vol. xi, p. ."il!)) reads as follows: "All hotel employees shall have a half-holiday from the hour of 2 o'clock in the afternoon of some working-day in each week. On that day of the half-holiday as provided, or in cases of emergencies, an employer may require any worker in his employ to perform the work usually performed by the worker away on his or her holiday at tlu same rate of wages as is fixed for his or her own department." That is to say, if the housemaid is off it is competent for the employe]' to ask the waitress to assist in doing the housemaid's work. The whole staff would be working harmoniously together, doing the work of the servants who are off. Now, as regards the small hotels, the Arbitration Court has long realized , that the proprietor of a small hotel is essentially a worker, as shown in the Auckland Hotel Workers' award, clause IG (Awards., Vol. xi, p. 519), which leads as follows: " In computing the number of persons employed for the purpose of this award casual workers shall not be reckoned, and where an employer does the work of any worker affected by this award he or she shall be counted as an employee. Managers of dining-rooms to count as head waiter for the purpose of comparing the number of waiters in any one dining-room." So that the Court itself recognized that a man who was in business in a small way and had to do the work of a worker should be counted as an employee. For the purpose of making this clear a provision was made for a scale of wages for one, two, or three barmen, the same thing for cooks: that would make an alteration in the scale of wages paid, and he would be counted as a worker. With regard to section 28, I might state that my people strongly oppose the aggregation of the half or whole holiday, as it strikes at the root of the six-day-week principle. Section 21 : I am at a loss to understand the meaning of this section, as surely any one who claims to have any knowledge of the working of awards will agree with me that, to say the least of it, it is an absurdity, inasmuch as it is an impossibility to make an award or industrial agreement for a longer period than three years, and this section makes provision for an impossible contingency that might arise after three years and four months. Now, what we desire is to amend this clause in the direction indicated by Mr. Carey, and would point out that my union have had to wait for the benefits of the Shops and Offices Amendment Act, 1910, which came into operation on the 3rd December of that year, until after the 15th August this year, 1913. We were the last of all the hotel workers in New Zealand to get the benefit of the amending Act of 1910; and we strongly urge this Committee to insert a clause which will give to the