RIVERMAN OR MINER.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 70, 23 March 1915, Page 3

RIVERMAN OR MINER.

ARBITRATION COURT DECIDES. DISPUTED POINT AT PAEROA. The Arbitration Court has given an opinion in a case that was stated for its consideration by the magistrate at Paeroa, Mr. F. J. Burgess, S.M. The question arose in an action brought by Inspector Matthew Paul against the Waihi-Paeroa Gold Extraction Company Ltd., for alleged breach of the award made between the company and the Thames Miners' Union. The alleged breach was that the company had failed to ,pay an employe* named Thorpe the full amount of wagee due for overtime* ' The" facts set forth were to the following; effect: The Company is the owner of eight river claims, each a mile in, length, in the bed of the Ohinemuri River. The claims were , taken up for the purpose of treating the tailings—the accumulated product* of the quartz cruahings at Waibi, Waikino and- Karangahakc- -The Company has erected on the bank of the Ohinemuri River a plant for regrinding the toilings and recovering the gold by cyanide treatment: - • The tailings are raised by two dredges and conveyed in punts or barges to the works at the lower end of the claims. The InspectorVpf Awards claimed (in the ease under notice) that Thorpe, the man in charge of-ah oil launch engaged lin towing the laden punts to tbe works [was a workman under the agreement between the Company and the Thames Miners' Union. Thorpe was paid at the rate of £3 per week, with an additional shilling per hour for every hour he was - employed beyond 54 in each -week. He had nothing to do with the dredging of the material or- its--transfer to the barge. AH he did wa3 to tow it down the river. During' the fortnight ended sth December, 1914 V Thorpe-worked 41 J hours overtime--and for this received £2 1/6. - - ■- -:-- The company claimed- that river employees did not come within the scope of the agreement. These facts were laid before the Arbitration Court bench; which f has now stated its opinion thus: "There is no provision in the industrial agreement referred to in the case providing for the hours of work or wages of a person engaged in the. capacity in which the workman Thorpe wae employed. He doet not, therefore, in ...the opinion of th* .Court, come within the operation of each industrial agreement."