SHEARING CONTRACT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 February 1939, Page 7

SHEARING CONTRACT

CLAIM IN MAGISTRATE’S COURT. PLAINTIFF NON-SUITED. A case of interest to farmers and shearers was heard before Mr H. P. La wry, S.M./last week. The plaintiff. Mrs Mabel F. Waipuku (Mr L A. Hart) claimed from the defendants, the Trustees of E. T. Williams Estate (Mr J. K. Logan) £142 Ils damages for alleged breach of a shearing contract. The plaintiff said that after shearing the dry sheep of the defendants in October, she was to return on a date to be mutually agreed upon about December 12 to shear the wet sheep. Owing to wet weather intervening she was unable to commence shearing on that date and she alleged that the defendants had unjustifiably terminated the contract. At the conclusion of the plaintiff s case Mr Logan applied for a nonsuit. The Magistrate, in granting the nonsuit, stated that in his opinion the clause in the Shearers Award providing that the employer shall not terminate a shearing contract by reason of the fact that the shearers could not start on the date agreed owing to wot weather did not apply to this case. He said that the award applied to cases only where the wet weather occurred on the date agreed for starting or on the day previous where the sheep woulc. be too wet to shear. The award did not apply to cases where the wot weathei occurred at some other time and prevented shearers from finishing anothoi shed in time. The Magistrate said that if shearers wanted to take other sheds in the meantime they should stipulate in their contracts accordingly. If they contracted to commence on a certain date then the fact that they have no! finished at another shed on that date could not affect the contract. Otherwise a person might be held up indefinitely.

The contract also provided that a wool classer should be approved and the plaintiff admitted on December 10 that she did not have a classer and did not know of a classer she could get. The Magistrate also slated that no damages had been proved by the plaintiff. She had proved no damage to herself nor had the members of the gang shown that they had lost anything or had tried to get other work.