MINIMUM WAGE ACT

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25766, 30 March 1949, Page 2

MINIMUM WAGE ACT

CASE OF PART-TIME WORKERS APPEAL COURT RULING I (P.A.) WELLINGTON, March 29. | The Court of Appeal gave judgment to--1 day in a case stated by the Arbitration Court relating to the interpretation of the award governing front-of-house theatre employees in Canterbury, Wellington, ; Marlborough, Taranaki, and Southland The case was brought by Henry Moody Hopper, of Wellington, an inspector of awards, on behalf of Alfred Guv, a theatre employee, against Rex Amusements, Ltd. Guy was employed in a Wellington theatre as a performance worker. The award provides that performance workers should be paid 8s lOd for each performance of three hours. Guy worked for seven performances a week and was paid accordingly £3 Is lOd a week. This payment satisfied the requirements of the award as made by the Court of Arbitration. However, the Minimum Wage Act, 1945. provided that male workers should be paid a minimum of £5 5s a week. The Court . of Appeal was asked to give an opinion ■ whether the employment of a performance worker, whose hours were limited by I the award to a maximum of three hour’s I for each performance, was affected by the 1 provision of the Minimum Wage Act prescribing a minimum weekly wage of £5 5s a week. The Court was further asked whether the requirements of the Minimum Wage Act could be met by the payment to the worker of some proportion cf the £5 5s a week, and if so, what proportion? The Court held that payments to a performance worker as prescribed by the award satisfied the requirements of the . Minimum Wage Act. The worker was employed on an hourly basis and received |an hourly wage higher than that pre- ■■ scribed in the Minimum Wage Act. If the worker were regarded as working on a weekly basis he was entitled to 21-36ths of £5 5s for 21 hours' work. His weeklv wage under the award was again at a higher rate than would have been received under the Minimum Wage Act. The case was referred back to the Arbitration Court for judgment in accordance with the law as stated by the Appeal Court.