EMPLOYMENT
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there, apply to the Ministry of Labour in Britain for an employ- ment voucher before entry can be considered. The Labour Depart- ment undertakes to forward such applications under arrangements with the British issuing authorities. During the year 51 applications were received and 18 vouchers were issued. Most of the applicants were non-manual workers. At the request of the Ministry of Labour 78 vouchers for which prospective employers had made direct applications on behalf of workers whom they had engaged, were distributed to successful applicants.
WAGES AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
Wages. The wages of workers not engaged on piece rates are calculated on an hourly, daily, or monthly basis and are custom- arily paid at weekly or fortnightly intervals. Supervisors, techni- cians, employees of public utility companies, and all Government servants with the exception of a few casual workers are normally paid on a monthly basis. Most semi-skilled and unskilled workers in manufacturing industries and in the printing trade are on daily rates of pay. There is no differentiation in rates of pay for men and women engaged in piece work, but men engaged on a time basis are generally more highly paid than their female counterparts. Appren- tices receive progressively increasing rates of pay throughout a training period varying between two and five years, rising to a maximum which approximates that of an unskilled worker.
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During 1963 wide-spread demands for wage increases were made by employees in utility companies, public transport, shipyards, port work, dairy farming, building construction, engineering under- takings, certain manufacturing industries, and a section of Govern- ment service. In most cases, the industries or occupations affected had adjusted wage rates in 1960. Workers, through their unions, represented that they were experiencing a decline in standards of living owing to an increase in living costs which had not been balanced by an increase in earnings. On average, increases in monthly take-home pay granted during 1963 by utility companies were between $21 and $32, (7 per cent to 15 per cent). In the case of officers on Scale I in Government service, the increases varied from $26 to $33 (11 per cent to 14 per cent). The two leading shipyards granted a flat increase of $41.60, representing 33 per cent for labourers and 17.6 per cent for skilled workers. Prior to
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