ENGINEERS' OVERTIME.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 250, 21 October 1919, Page 10

ENGINEERS' OVERTIME.

MEW APPROACH THE COTTOT. JUDGE POINTS OUT PROPER COURSE. Tlio difficulty that has Rrisen in th* ingineering and allied tradee in Auck and, owing to the refusal of the men o work overtime, was mentioned at the Arbitration Gourt yesterday aiternoon. It will be remembered that the Court recently decided that the war bonus did not ipply to overtime, only to the ordinary .ime. Upon this the men refused to work ivertime at all, and work has been deayed in consequence. Yesterday afterwon, Mr. R. F. Barter, on behalf of thp ,'nion, asked the Court to reconsider ts decision. He said the iron industry had been hit very hard as a result of the decision. His Honor, Mr. Justice Stringer, presilent of the Court, said the Court could lot consider whether it hit hard or soft. All the Oourt had to do was to interpret the award, and it had done so. Mr. Barter said the object of the Court was to grant the men an increase. Hie Honor: So it did. Mr. Barter 6aid there was decrease as far as working overtime was concerned. His Honor replied that the proper course for the Union to follow was to ask for an amendment, of the award. An iwurd had been made; the Court wan isked to interpret that award, in so far as its terms applied to overtime, and that wan done. If, as the result of that interpretation, the workers were not trotting what the Union considered the award meant they should get, then the I'nion'e proper course wae to ask for that award to be amended. The decision as to the meaning of the terms could not be reviewed. It was not possible to appeal from Phillip drunk to Phillip sober. If the Union <-oul.i produce sufficient evidence to show that the award did not convey the meaning it was intended to convey, then it could be amended. Mr. P>artor pointed out that the awards afTcctcd all expired this your. The overtime affected the men vitally at the present time, and that was why they wanted the decision reviewed. His Honor said if the awards expired in a few weeks it was hardly worth while disturbing them. However, if the Union wanted anything done the Ti<rtit course would be to ask to have the award amended.