RELIEF WORK

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 74, 28 March 1931, Page 11

RELIEF WORK

APPEAL'CASE

HEARING BY ARBITRATION

COURT

Tho Arbitration Court was engaged to-day in hearing an appeal from tho judgment or! tho Magistrate in an action in which the General Labourers' Union claimed to recover from tho Wellington City Council the sum of Sl!j as a, penalty for a breach of tho Wellington Municipal Labourers' Award. Tin; appeal was made on tho ground that tho council employed certain men at the Palmer Head quarry and paid them at Uio rat.c of Is 9d an hour, instead of 2& OJ'.l, as laid down in clause ;'! of the award. The Magistrate gavo judgment for the defendant, the City Council, with costs, £2 "s. Mr. I), M. Findlay appeared for the Workers' Union (appellants), atid Mr. J. O'Shea for the City Council (respondents). /• At the hearing, the union representative contended that he was entitled to judgment upon tho ground that a breach of section 129 of the Arbitration Act, 1925, had been committed, inasmuch as the work at the Palmer Head quarry was not "reliof work carried out by special resolution of tho local authority." On the other hand, counsel for respondent contended that the men were employed on relief works. As stated, tho Magistrate ■ gave judgment for defendants. Tho ground of the.appeal was that the judgment of the Magistrate was wrong in point of law. Mr. O'Shea drew attention to an alteration which ho asserted had been wrongly made in the notice of appeal. His Honour Mr. .Justice Frazer said the alteration had been made with the consent of tho Magistrate. The alteration made the paragraph clear. The error should, however, have been pointed out to the .parties concerned. After hearing legal argument, the Court dismissed the appeal, with costs, £!J ss.