WORKERS’ COMPENSATION ACT

Grey River Argus, 11 May 1923, Page 2

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION ACT

(To the Editor ) Sir.—l wrote the ‘'Argus” a short article on the Workers’ Compensate!' Act, dealing with the interpretation of the ‘'computation (>f wage.'- clause, on March 20. Since that date the Stockton Company admits that my contention was c'.rrect, viz.. “That the number of weeks worked in the preceding twelve months must be th? divisor: If a man works one, two. len or any number of weeks in the preceding twelve months before' his :»c--eidont, then those numbers must be used to get the man’s average earn•ngs ’’ The enly exception to the above computation is after a strike lias taken place, as a strike breaks the contract with the employers. If the workers are on strike for more wu.ges and obtain an increase, then the computation will bo based on Ihe new figures. On the other hand, if the workers return to work on a i?duco<l Avage, then the same thing applies. The. Workers’ Compensation Act is an Act which -everyone of the workers (hand or brain) should endeavour to understand. For this reason: It took three-quarters <f a century of extremelv hard work by the old stalwarts in the Trades Union movement to establish the idea, that th? employers were liable lor injuries to their human machines. fn fart. I think that it was in the year I<S97 that the principle of paying compensation to injured workmen was adopted by the H-use of Commons. The cmployars said in those early days (?) that it would ruin irdustry, make men lazy, ami in far l it was ‘‘political interference” with industry. In those days one. minor i--449 was killed in the mines of Britain, and it is a crying shame tha‘ aver a century of industrial development had obtained before the w-rkei-were compensated for injuries rceeivod at their various callings. Then we hav? those hurdles of common employment am! contributory negligence to leal with. It was only necessary for the emphyer to show that the workman had been guilty of indiscretion, thereby contributing to the accident, and his chances wore very small of getting any compensation. Then tlm doctrine ol ‘‘common employment ” meant: That if a workman was injured as the result of another emphyee’s negligence; than no compensation was forthcoming. So by the. above explanation, we see ihat a worker was responsible for his own negligence and also f<r the negligence of his f-ellow workers. The above conditions existed from IS.'7 to 1880. ’The Employers’ Liability Act was passed in 1880. I hen we find out that the employers j h.-rd very little liability, because in 1882 “contracting out” was legalised In other words, men could contract with their cmployi’rs “’not. to claim nnv compensation for injury.” The work<ts want an Act whereby they should get not 58 per rent., but 100 percent of their wag.'s when injured! In 1913 the Peace Battle casualties in the industrial callings were as follows in Great Britain:— ’ Killed Injured Factories, AVorkshops 1309 178,852 Minos am! Quarries 1870 184.202 Railways p;;; 29.247 Ships; Mt?rcantilc Fishing A’cssels . 303 422 ngi net ring . . . , 30 719 "of occulion .. .. 71 r i'otal 4934 402.015 Let us look at the casualties in New Zealand. From the Miners’ Statement I cull the following:—Ten persons were ! fatally injured, 37 received serious in- » juries. I'hc fatal accidents in mines und qualifies amounted to 1.5 per 1000 persons employed. The fatalities in mines amounted to 2.28 ]»er 1000 persons employed, and 5.52 per .1,000,000 tons of roal produced. Tin* Minister of Afines stab's that the year 1921 has been “unusually prolific” in accidents in or about c< al mines, t< n persons having been killed and 37 persons having received serious injuries.’ If the | workers of Now Zealand could by any i means get a commission sot up for th? j purnose of compelling all employers to i preducc their records of compensation I payments for the past two years onlv. to their injured workmen, I believe , that wo would discover ihat the letter and the spirit of the Comjiens.-ui' n Act have been flouted. _Mv advice to all - the workers .is this: Ko-ep all your pay tickets, thus enabling ■vourselves to eomputo your earnings for the past J ear, at very little time and labour for your own and your fellow workers benefit.— Yours fraternally 7 H. L. EVANS. Stockton, Afay 7.