EMPLOYMENT OF WORKERS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 301, 16 September 1919, Page 5

EMPLOYMENT OF WORKERS

QUESTION OP, APPLICATION TO A UNION. Rv Talxcnnh—Prnan Auonlatlnn Christchurch, September 15. An important relerenee to the clauses governing the employment of workers wus made to-day by, Mr. Justice Stringer in delivering his reserved judgment iu the case Inspector .of Awards v. P. Burke and Co., caterer, of Cnristchurtli, Tho deiendants were charged that in April they employed a casual worker and failed in the first instance .to make application to the.secretary of. tho union to supply them with the 'required Worker, contrary to clause 21 oi the award, by which they were bound. The clause in question is as ldllowa:—"When an employer wishes to obtain the services of a worker ,he or she shall, in the first instance, make application to the secretary of the. union to supply him or her with the required workers, and if the union is not in a position to supply his or her requirements within a .reasonable or prescribed time the employer may engage any person, whether a member of the'union or otherwise. His Honour said the defendants were caterers, and on certain special occasions, such as race meetings, or agricultural shows, they'were in the habit of employing a considerable number'of,-workers, who came, within the definition of "casual" workers contained in the award. In' the present case there had been a technical breach of tho award, which, however did not call for more than a nom- ■ inal penalty. Judgment, therefore, would be for 10s., without costs. "The Court desires to add," continued His Honour, "that in its opinion it is open to serious question whether it is within the' jurisdiction of tho Arbitration Court to impose upon parties such a provision as is contained in clauso 21 of the award, which was inserted by the agreement of the parties. The Court has frequently refused to insert similar provisions inn cases coming before it where objections have:been raised to such insertion, but not on tho ground of want of jurisdiction. As, however, the clause now appears in several awards, it may be desirable to havo it authoritatively settled as to whether or not the Court has jurisdiction to insert such a provision in the award, and if in anv future case either of the parties bo desires, the Judge of the Court will be prepared to state a case for the opinion of the Court of Appeal."