CONCERNING A WAR BONUS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3007, 19 February 1917, Page 7

CONCERNING A WAR BONUS

. — I CLAIM AGAINST A GAS COMPANY. . By. Telegraph— Press 1 Association. .• Auokland, February 17. . This afternoon judgment was delivered in tho Supreme Court in tho case set down from the Magistrate's Court in which tho Inspector of Awards proceeded against- the Auckland Gas Company to recover a penalty for an alleged breach of the amendment to tho Northern District Engineers' Award. The case, as set out in Urn Lower Court, was that tho company had, during the period between August 21 and November 11, 1916, employed an engineer and failed to pay a war bonus of Id. an hour in addition to tho wages paid, provided by Clause la and b of tho award. The defendants admitted that both before and after Juno 30, 1915, when tho company was made ii party to tho award, an ordinary week's work consisted of 47 hours, the worker being' credited with having worked 48 hours, for which he received £3 6s. After the order of the Court camo into operation in August, 1916, the company paid a worker for the actual hours he had worked at the rate of ]s. did. per hour, plus a war bonus of Id. per hour, which resulted in his receiving, including tho bonus, £3 Bs. 7d. for 39 hours worked. Tho evidence for the company was that it had been tho custom for years to pay .for 47 hours actually worked, and give the equivalent of aii extra hour's work as a bonus. When tho award was made it was found that thero was no increase in tho maximum ,rate of pay already paid, namclv, Is. 4}d. per hour for 47 hours, and tho company decided, therefore, to still give the equivalent, of. the extra hour as a gratuity. The Inspector contended that the war bonus 1 should have been paid in addition to the wages paid as in August, 1916, and that the action of the company, had resulted in the workers receiving Is. 4d. less, per week of 47 hours than they are ontitled to. Tho opinion of tho Court wa,s that for the purposes of the award the wages paid prior to August, 1916, must be deemed to have been £3 6s. a week of 47 hours. A man was really paid wages at the rate of nearly Is. sd. per hour for tho time he actually worked. In the absenco of proof that the workers had acknowledged that the_ payment for tho hour not actually worked ' was a bonus or gratuity, tho amount paid for such hour in accordance, with the long-established custom would reas-. '■ onably bo regarded as part •of tho wages. Tho Court was of the opinion : that the contention of tho Inspector ' was correct. j