COMPENSATION ACT

Hokitika Guardian, 5 January 1929, Page 7

COMPENSATION ACT

YEAR'S PAYMENTS IX NEW SOUTH WALKS. 01,000 INJURED WORKERS. The :mmini report of the New Sent! Wales Workmen’s Compensation Commission for the veer ended June 00. Hij.X, discloses that over 01,000 workmen received injuries during the 12 months. For the previous J2 months the figure wns just over 50.0J0. During tlie 1928 year all exeept 1.15 of tile claims were settled by agreement, the remainder being determined by the Commission at public hearings in various parts of the State. During the preceding year the percentage of contested claims was 1.37. The total cost involved in compensating injured workers was approximately .02,000,000, including payments made by licensing insurers, and authorised self-insurers. The estimated cost of administration by the Commission was 1.0(5 ol the premium income of insurers. Employers whose annual wages amounted to over £30,000,000 were authorised under section IS to under take the liability of compensatin'' their own workers. The wage roll of these sel'f-insurers represents one-quar-ter of the total for the State. The report states that the self-insur-ance provisions were a very successful feature of the Act. It is pointed out in the enforcement o'f safety first methods in the performance of their workers’ duties, as well as in the car'' of injured workers and their rehabi’itntion. All employers should be encouraged to prevent industrial injury. On the question of costs the report states that in 111 cases where costs were granted hy the Commission to either applicant or respondent, the bills were taxed by the Registrar, with the result that in every instance there was a substantial reduction on the original bill submitted. In one case a bill of £l(>-1. was reduced to £7B; in another £5(5 was reduced to £M Ms; £l2l was reduced to £(SO, and £ll 13 (id was reduced to £4 0s 9d. Of the 170 persons examined; during the year for incapacity owing to pains in tlie back, it was found that 125 were due to muscular strain from the liftin': of heavy weights. Under the silicosis compensation scheme, compensation was payable at June 30 in respect of 028 beneficiaries, of whom 253' were Broken Hill residents. .These cases are grouped as 070 mine workers, 25 hanl-luck cases, and 35 mine employees. During the period the Government paid ‘£54,/lo and the Broken Hill mincowners a like amount into the Broken Hill compensation fund, out of which the abovementioned 570 mine workers and 25 hard-luck cases were subsidised.