ARBITRATION COURT.

Feilding Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 4590, 16 May 1922, Page 2

ARBITRATION COURT.

INTERPRETATION OF AWARD. . (Per Press Association.) Auckland, May 15. The Arbitration Court has given its decision in the application for an interpretation of the Award relating to creameries, cheese, and butter factories. The facts were that the Glaxo Company took over the dried milk factory at Matangi in August, 1920, and was not bound by the. award made two months later for dried milk factories. The firm ceased making dried milk in March, and commenced making cheese. Overtime was not paid to the employees for time in excess of 44 hours after April 1, as provided in tho cheese factories award. The question was whether the change over brought the company within the provisions of the cheese factory award, and thus made -it a subsequent party to one part of the award, while at the same time it was not bound by the award so far as it related to the principal business. The Court stated that Section 90, Subsection 3 of the Act was designed only for the purpose of bringing in as a subsequent party any employer who commenced business in an industry to which the award applied, while in force. The Court was of opinion that it had no jurisdiction to treat several branches of an industry covered by one award as -separate industries,' so as to automatically bind an employer not, originally bound, who commenced operation in one of those branches in which he was not engaged when the award was made. It thought the application to join thr> company as a party should be made in the ordinary way. Regarding the Christchurcli wire re the freezing employers, the Registrar of the Court stated that the Court knew of no ambiguity in the general order, but thought the message might refer to some difficulty in deducting per hour a reduction from tho existing percentage increases. Tf this is the case, it is a matter peculiar to freezing workers awards, and does not create any difficulty in the case of other awards. It is possible, that there has been some misreading of the terms of the general order.