S.I. No. 173/1974:

EMPLOYMENT REGULATION ORDER (HANDKERCHIEF AND HOUSEHOLD PIECE GOODS JOINT LABOUR COMMITTEE) 1974.

EMPLOYMENT REGULATION ORDER (HANDKERCHIEF AND HOUSEHOLD PIECE GOODS JOINT LABOUR COMMITTEE) 1974.

WHEREAS the Labour Court (hereinafter called "the Court") pursuant to the provisions of Section 43 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1946 , (hereinafter called "the Act") made an Employment Regulation Order dated the 6th February, 1973 ( S.I. No. 33 of 1973 ) (hereinafter called "the said Order") fixing the statutory minimum rates of remuneration and regulating the statutory conditions of employment of workers in relation to whom the Handkerchief and Household Piece Goods Joint Labour Committee (hereinafter called "the Committee") operates;

AND WHEREAS the Committee has submitted to the Court a proposal for revoking the said Order;

AND WHEREAS the Committee has also submitted to the Court the proposals set out in the Schedule hereto for fixing the statutory minimum rates of remuneration and regulating the statutory conditions of employment of workers in relation to whom the Committee operates;

AND WHEREAS the provisions of Section 43 of the Act have been complied with;

NOW, THEREFORE, the Court, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Section 43 of the Act hereby orders as follows:--

(1) This Order may be cited as the Employment Regulation Order (Handkerchief and Household Piece Goods Joint Labour Committee) 1974.

(2) Effect is hereby given to the proposals set out in the Schedule hereto.

(3) The provisions set out in the Schedule hereto shall have effect as from the 10th June, 1974 and as from that date the said Order shall be revoked.

SCHEDULE

PART I

General Minimum Time-Rates and Piece-Work Basis Time-Rate

*Cost-of-Living "Threshold" provision. If during the period mid November, 1973 to mid November, 1974 the Consumer Price Index rises by more than 10% the basic pay of employees shall be increased by 1% for every 1% rise in the Index over that 10%--the increase is payable from the 10th March, 1975.

Female Workers (including Learners) while employed, on Piece-Work shall be paid Piece-Rates each of which would yield, in the circumstances of the case, to an ordinary worker, not less than the above Piece-Work Basis Time-Rate. In determining whether any Piece-Rate is sufficient to satisfy this condition, regard must be had only to the earnings of ordinary workers, that is to say, workers of ordinary skill and experience in the class of work in question, and not to the earnings of learners or infirm workers, or workers of great or less than ordinary skill and experience.

PART II

Normal Working Hours and Overtime Rates

SECTION I -- The normal number of hours of work in any week shall be 40.

The minimum rate for Overtime, which shall be payable in respect of all time worked by a worker (whether on Time-Work or Piece-Work) in excess of the normal number of hours of work, shall be Time-and-a-half, i.e. One-and-a-half times the Minimum Rate otherwise applicable.

PART III

Conditions Governing Learnership

SECTION I. A learner is a female worker who:

( a ) Is employed during the whole or a substantial part of the hours of work in learning any branch or processes of the trade, by an employer who provides the learner with reasonable facilities for learning such branch or processes, and

( b ) Has received a certificate to the effect that she is a member of the Learner Class in the Trade, or has made an application for such certificate which has been duly acknowledged and is still under consideration.

PROVIDED THAT--

(i) An employer may employ a learner on first employment in the Trade, as defined in this Schedule, without a certificate for a probationary period not exceeding four weeks, but in the event of such learner being continued thereafter in the employment, the probationary period shall be included in the period of learnership.

(ii) A learner shall cease to be a learner, and shall become entitled to the Minimum Rate payable to Female Workers other than Learners, on the completion of three years employment in the Trade.

(This provision does not interfere with the right of a Learner who is employed on Piece-Work to be paid the appropriate Piece-Rate in accordance with the provisions of Part 1, Section III of this Schedule.)

(iii) Any worker employed as a learner who had previously been employed in any Branch of the Trade, as defined in this Schedule, shall count the whole period of such previous employment in calculating the period of learnership completed by her and for the purpose of claiming the minimum time-rate at which she is entitled to be paid.

(iv) An application for a Learner's Certificate must be made to the Joint Labour Committee in respect of every worker engaged in Learning the Trade, whom it is desired to employ at the Minimum Rates fixed for Learners. Unless a Learner's Certificate has been obtained, or an application therefore has been made which has been acknowledged and is still under consideration, and the other conditions of learnership laid down in this Schedule are complied with the Minimum Rate Payable shall be that fixed for female workers other than learners.

(v) Notwithstanding compliance with the conditions contained in this Part of the Schedule, a female worker shall not be deemed to be a Learner if she works in a room used for dwelling purposes, and is not in the employment of her parent or guardian.

SECTION II -- The issue of Certificate to Learners shall be governed by the following Conditions relative to the provision of reasonable facilities for learning the Trade:--

(1) The proportion of Learners in the Trade to other female workers employed therein, shall not, as a general rule, exceed two Learners to five other female workers in the case of any particular employer, and the issue of Learners' Certificate shall be restricted accordingly.

(2) Where, however, the Joint Labour Committee is satisfied in any particular case that special facts or circumstances so require, the Committee may authorise the issue of Learners' Certificates in excess of the proportion above specified.

SECTION III -- The Joint Labour Committee may, if it thinks fit, refer to a Sub-Committee appointed under the provisions of Paragraph 8 of the Second Schedule to the Industrial Relations Act, 1946 , applications made to it for the issue of Learners Certificates in excess of the proportion normally permitted and may also, if it thinks fit, delegate to the Sub-Committee so appointed any or all of its powers and duties in connection therewith and the expression "Committee" used in Section 1 and 11 above shall include the Sub-Committee so appointed.

PART IV

Workers in Relation to Whom the Committee Operates

The above minimum Rates of Remuneration and Conditions of Employment shall apply subject to the provisions of the Industrial Relations Act, 1946 , and of this Order, to all workers in respect of any time during which they are employed in any Branch of the Trade specified in the Trade Board (Handkerchief and Household Piece Goods) Order, 1935, that is to say:--

The making of such articles as are specified in (a) and (b) below from linen, cotton, silk or other materials excluding paper, rubberised material and American oilcloth viz:--

( a ) Handkerchiefs (including Mufflers and Scarves)

( b ) Bed-linen, Bed-spreads, Towels, Dusters, Tablenapery, Tea-cloths, Table-centres, Sideboard covers, Cushion covers or similar household articles; including all or any of the following operations:--

(i) hooking, cutting or tearing the materials;

(ii) vice-folding;

(iii) machine hemming, hem-stitching, spoking, overlocking, tambouring, button-holing and other plain or fancy machine stitching;

(iv) all processes of embroidery or decorative needlework done by machine, whether before or after the making of the articles of the description specified above;

(v) the following processes if done by machine:-- thread-drawing, thread clipping, top-sewing, scalloping, nickelling and paring;

(vi) all processes of laundering, smoothing, folding, ornamenting boxing, finishing, warehousing, packing and other similar operations incidental to or appertaining to the making of the articles of the descriptions specified above.

PART V

Annual Holidays

1. A worker in relation to whom the Committee operates and who qualifies for annual leave under the Holidays (Employees) Act, 1961 shall be granted 3 weeks annual leave.

2. Payment in respect of additional annual leave shall be calculated in the same manner as payment in respect of annual leave under Section 10 of the Holidays (Employees) Act, 1961 .

3. One of the three weeks annual leave may be granted at such time as may be agreed between the worker and the employer.

PART VI

*Pensions and Mortality Scheme for Female Workers (Excluding Out-Workers)

Each employer shall provide a pension scheme containing the following terms and conditions which shall apply to female workers (excluding out-workers) employed by him in relation to whom the Committee operates:

*Documentary evidence of the existence of the Scheme (such as for example an insurance policy) should be available for inspection.

1. The pension scheme shall be non-contributory for workers.

2. The Commencement Date means the date from which the Order becomes effective.

3. The Entry Date means the Commencement Date and each subsequent anniversary thereof.

4. Normal pension age shall be on the 65th birthday of the worker.

5. Every full-time, permanent worker who at the Commencement Date is aged not less than 30 years but less than 55 years: has completed at least five years' continuous employment with the employer by whom she is then employed or his predecessor in title and who entered the employment of that employer or his predecessor in title on or before her 45th birthday shall become and remain a member of the pensions scheme provided by her employer.

6. Every full-time permanent worker other than those described at 5 above who at an entry date other than the Commencement Date:--

( a ) is aged not less than 30 years but less than 45 years and

( b ) has completed at least five years' continuous employment with the employer by whom she is then employed or his predecessor in title shall become and remain a member of the pensions scheme provided by her employer.

7. A member of the pension scheme who has completed at least 30 years continuous employment immediately prior to normal pension age with the employer by whom she is then employed or his predecessor in title will receive on retirement at normal pension age a pension of £2.00 per week. The pension will be payable for five years certain from date of retirement and thereafter for life.

8. A member of the pension scheme who has completed less than thirty years continuous employment with the employer by whom she is then employed or his predecessor in title immediately prior to the normal pension age will receive on retirement at normal pension age a weekly pension calculated as follows:--

6½p multiplied by her number of years continuous employment.

The pension will be payable for five years certain from the date of retirement and thereafter for life.

9. In the event of death in employment before normal pension age of a member of the pension scheme a lump sum of £600.00 shall be paid into her Estate.

10. A worker who is aged over 25 years and who has completed at least three years' continuous employment with her employer or his predecessor in title and who would otherwise satisfy the eligibility conditions in paragraph 5 and 6 shall from the entry date following the completion of such conditions become and remain a member of the pension scheme provided by her employer for the purpose of obtaining the death benefit referred to in paragraph 9.

11. With the consent of her employer a member of the pension scheme may retire during the 10 years immediately preceding her normal pension age, or at any time on the grounds of ill health. In either event she will be entitled to receive as from date of retirement a weekly pension calculated as follows:--

6½p multiplied by her number of years continuous service with the employer.

12. Where a worker ceased or ceases employment with her employer and was or is subsequently re-employed the employment of such worker will count only from the date of subsequent re-employment.

13. A worker who voluntarily leaves the employment before normal pension age except as provided in paragraph 11 above or who is dismissed for misconduct shall not be entitled to any benefit under the pension scheme.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Court this 7th day of June, 1974.

(Signed) J. G. McCAULEY,

A person authorised under Section 18 of the Industrial

Relations Act, 1946, to authenticate the Seal of the Court.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

This Instrument fixes new statutory minimum rates of pay and regulates statutory conditions of employment as from 10th June, 1974 for workers employed in the Handkerchief and Household Piece Goods Trade. It is made by the Labour Court on the recommendation of the Handkerchief and Household Piece Goods Joint Labour Committee.