ARBITRATION COURT AWARDS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8187, 19 July 1906, Page 5

ARBITRATION COURT AWARDS.

The Court of Appeal, oonslflting of their Honours Justices Edwards, Oooper, and Chapman, commenced, at Wellington, yesterday morning, the hearing of the oase of A. Baillie and Co. v. Arthur Reece, an appeal from a decision of the Chief Justice. The appellants are printers at Pahiatua, and respondent is a compositor, who entered their employment in J1893, when he was 13 years and two months old. He was not apprenticed, but worked for wages. On June 9th, 1902, an award was made in the Arbitration Court fixing the minimum wages of printers' employees, and the appellants were parties to that award, The respondent continued in the service of appellants for nearly two years after the making of the award, receiving during that period less wages than the minimum fixed by the award, but no oontraot was made by him to take less than'the minimum rate, and his employers did uot take advantage of the provision allowing a" lower rate to be paid in certain oases For that breach of the award tbey were fined £lO by the Arbitration Court, but; no part of that fine was paid to Reece, who left their employment in August, 1904, and sued them in the Magistrate's Court at Pahiatua for £sl 16s, the difference between the wages paid to him and the minimum rate fixed by the award. The Magistrate gave judgment against him, and he appealed to the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice held that be was entitled to recover the full amount of wages fixed by the award, and allowed the appeal with costs, but on account of the importance of the question, leave was given to take the case to the Court of Appeal. Mr A. L. Herdman appeared for the appellants, and Dr. Findlay for the respondent. It is worthy of notice that the case is now being argued before the president of the Arbitration Court and two ex presidents of the same tribunal. After Mr Herdman and Dr. Findlay had addressed the Court at considerable length judgment was reserved.

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