H.—ll

10

Since their establishment in January, 1909, the Councils have dealt with 694 cases, and of this total 468 have been fully settled, 130 substantially settled, whilst the number in which only minor items of the disputes were settled and the whole disputes were referred to the Court totals 98. Enforcement of Awards, Industrial Agreements, etc. Cases taken by the Department for enforcement of awards, &c, total 334 —viz., four in the Arbitration Court and 330 in the Magistrate's Court. Of the total number 317 were successful. Fines, £447. (It should be explained in regard to the cases dismissed that many of them were debatable or technical, and were therefore mostly test cases.) Six cases were also taken by unions (in Magistrate's Court), two of which were dismissed. Inspectors of Awards and Clerks of Courts have during the year collected penalties amounting to £349 18s. from employers, and £23 17s. from workers. The total number of cases from inception of the Act in 1894 to the 31st March, 1915, in which penalties were inflicted is—Employers, 3,161 ; and workers,* 951 ; and the penalties recovered and outstanding as at 31st March, 1915, are as follow: — Employers. Workers.* £ s. d. Percentage. £ s. d. Percentage. Total amount of penalties .. 7,685 15 6 .. 1,020 7 0 Total amount paid .. .. 7,090 9 8 92 828 12 1 811; Total amount outstanding .. 595 5 10 8 19114 11 18f It should be explained that, of the amount outstanding, a considerable sum is owing by employers and workers who were only recently fined; steps are being taken in the usual Way to collect the amounts due. Expenditure of Court and Councils. The year's expenditure of Councils of Conciliation was £3,728, and of the Court of Arbitration was £4,234 —total, £7,962. (This includes the salaries of the Conciliation Commissioners (£1,500), and of the members of the Court (£2,800).) ARREARS OF WAGES, ETC., RECOVERED FOR WORKERS UNDER VARIOUS ACTS. During the year arrears of wages amounting to £1,072 Is. 3d. were collected and disbursed. This represents the collections of wages made on behalf of workers where it has been found that the facts warranted a settlement without recourse to legal proceedings. WORKERS' COMPENSATION ACT. During the year sixty-five cases for the recovery of compensation were dealt with by Court, as compared with sixty-four the previous year. Of these sixty-five cases twenty-one were considered sufficiently important to be reported. The following decisions are of special interest: — (1.) In Campbell v. The Taupiri Coal Mines (Limited) (Vol. xiii, p. 9), the plaintiff had met with an accident arising out of and in the course of his employment, as a result of which he lost the sight of his right eye. The average weekly earnings of the plaintiff, upon which compensation had to be based, amounted to £4 6s. 10d-, and under the Second Schedule to the Act (whicli provides special compensation for specific injuries), in accordance with the decision in Rough v. Prouse Lumber (Limited), (Vol. ix, p. 2), he was entitled, to 30 per cent, of the recurrent weekly payments of £2 3s. sd. (the amount of half-wages). The question was as to whether, as was claimed on behalf of the plaintiff, the payment for the loss of the eye at the rate of 30 per cent, of half-earnings should continue for six years but not exceeding the sum of £500 (the maximum period and amount allowed by the Act under section 5 (8) and (9), or whether the compensation payable was merely 30 per cent, of the maximum allowed by the Act. The Court held that the latter was payable : "In order to apply the schedule it is necessary in every case to ascertain in the first place the amount of compensation which would have been payable if the injuries had resulted in total incapacity, and this amount must be the basis on which the ratio is to be computed." (Note. —By the amending Act of 1913, section 11, the percentage of compensation for the loss of one eye is now raised from 30 per cent, to 50 per cent.)

* Other than slaughtermen fined for striking in 1907. Regarding these fines —viz., £1,330 —the sum of £295, or 22 por cent, of the whole amount, is still outstanding. No further payments in respect to these flues have been made since last report,. ;