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consideration will be given in time to ensure that some solution may be found before „ neXt eiect . lon - The_ New Zealand Government is anxious to take advantage of eveiy opportunity to participate fully in the work of the International Labour Organization, and 1 am confident that it can make a useful contribution to its success. Summary of Speech by Mr. Moston. I wish first of all to congratulate the Director on the veiy able and concise report presented In view of the importance of the shorter working-week and the experience New Zealand has had in this connection since 1936, I propose to confine my remarks mainlv to this subject. The New Zealand legislation aims at a working-week of not more than forty hours for all woikers. It is true, as I shall explain later, that a forty-hour working-week does not at present apply to certain industries. The Factories Amendment Act, 1936, prescribes a working-week of not more forty hours for all workers employed in factories, irrespective of age or Daily limits of hours are also prescribed, with provision for overtime with certain restrictions. Power is given to the Court of Arbitration to fix longer flours, but not to exceed forty-four per week, where the Court is of opinion that' it would be impracticable to carry on the work of the factory with a forty-hour week. The Court has already dealt with a number of applications to extend the hours beyond lorty per week, and the application has been granted where the operations in the factory are affected by the_ seasons, such as in dairy factories, meat-freezing and wool-scouring lactones, and also m the case of certain factories carrying on a continuous process. Now,_ the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Act, 1936, covers workers m any industry, including any calling, service, employment, or handicraft, and me Court must fix the_ hours of work at not more than forty per week excepting, again where the Court is satisfied that it would be impracticable to limit the weekly hours to lorty. Where the weekly hours of work are fixed at not more than forty, Saturday work as to be eliminated where practicable—that is, the forty hours must be worked within five days of the week. Mr. Oersted, on behalf of the employers' group, stated in this Conference with reference to the reduction of hours of work in New Zealand: " Moreover no legal limit is set to the amount of overtime that may be worked. Special rates are paid lor overtime, so that there is in fact a legal increase in wages rather than a legal reduction oi hours. This statement is misleading in two respects. In the first place, there is in the ease ol women and boys employed in factories a legal limit to the number of hours of overtime that may be worked. Overtime for woman and boys employed in factories is lestricted to ninety hours per year, with an additional thirty hours in special cases. Extra rates oi wages are payable—namely, time and a half. In the case of workers in retail shops, men as well as women and boys, overtime is prohibited altogether except for stocktaking or for other special purposes. If overtime is worked, special rates—namely time and a nail, and also tea-money—must be paid to each worker. In the second place, it is not correct to say that there is no legal reduction of hours but only an increase m wages. Normal hours were reduced by law to forty in factories and lorty-four m shops, with the proviso that in factories up to forty-four hours might be authorized by the _ Court. The reduction in normal hours effectively establishes the iorty-hour week since, under all awards of the Arbitration Court which constitute extensions ol the statutes and which fix the conditions of employment of practically all wor ters m New Zealand except farm workers and domestic servants, higher rates must be paid for overtime. Usually the rates fixed are time and a half for the first three hours and double-time rates thereafter. It will be realized that, although there is no rigid limit to the number of hours that may be worked by men workers in factories, the ligher rates thus fixed for overtime constitute an effective check, and this is confirmed by the statistics of actual overtime worked. • i th f P resent time tlie forty-hour week is in operation in sixty-five industries including boot and shoe manufacturing, building trades, coal-miners, clerical workers in practically all branches of industry or commerce, engineering and furniture and clothing trades laundry workers, and waterside workers, to mention a few of the principal industries. should mention that m the majority of the trades the forty-hour week was adopted bv agreement between the employers' and workers' organizations. Longer hours than forty per week are provided in awards of the Court of Arbitration covering thirty-one industries including dairy factories, motor and horse drivers, ferry employees, flax-workers meatireezmg workers, seamen, shearers, and retail-shop assistants. There is no doubt however that as existing awards expire the workers' organizations will renew their demands for a reduction m the hours of work. The provision enabling the Court of Arbitration to extend the weekly hours bevond where necessary has been useful, and has made it possible to avoid hardship and repercussions that might have been injurious to certain industries on account of the special nature of the work carried on. It is the practice, however, where longer hours aie permitted lor the Arbitration Court to grant some compensation to the workers in the way of annual holidays or extra time off.

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