COUNTRY PRINTERS

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 249, 15 July 1921, Page 6

COUNTRY PRINTERS

COMPOSITOR-MACHINISTS’ PAY. (From Our Own Correspondent.) Masterton, July 14. In the Magistrate’s Court this morning, Mr. S. L. I>. Free, S.M delivered judgment in the case in which the local inspector of factories (Mr. J. H..Coddington) claimed £lO from the Masterton Printing Company in respect to a eharga that it employed Walter Pellew and Edward Geary ns letterpress machinists, and only paid them compositors’ wages. Mr. Free said that the men in question were compositors, who, in addlion to "setting up" their work, "made it up and produced it on a mnehme. The frtet part of their work was that done by compositors, the second part was tha. properly performi-d by a machinist, wh.U the last part of the process was in larger works, carried out by a feedei and was more or leas unskilled Y orL ’ Pellew and Geary were employed on machinist’s work only a small portion of each day, varying from a few to perhaps half an hour or more, rhe wages payable under the award apar from any bonus, were: 5«. per week; machinists, £4 10s. 3d. per week. Compositors, though entitled to lower rate of pay loan machinists c ’ ceived certain concessions (payment ter holidays, etc.), which the difference teas than would at fll ' 3L „ n T p P^ r _ t Continuing, Mr. Free said: lam satisfied that neither of the men was a coupetent machinist in that they were not fessed of the toowl«lge. or required of a machinist m tho laiger works. But they had learnt to 'make up’ their jobs on tho machine, and this is P machinists’ work. ... and machinists are paid by the we.k, consequently it follows that if durin? nnv week compositors are employed to do'machinists’' work, for that week t icy are entitled to machinists pay. Voder the circumstances, I think a nommn penalty will meet the caee ; Judgment Will b 6 fOT £l, With COStfi , At the hearing Air. Fred ira ’ n ’ ’ presenting the New ?^« nd Printers’ Association, stated the case f defendants.