TRIVIAL CASE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 26 November 1925, Page 9

TRIVIAL CASE.

LABOUR DEPARTMENT CRITICISED

ADMINISTRATION OF AWARDS

(BY TELEGRAPH PRESS ASSOCIATION.) WELLINGTON, Nov. 26. The action of the Department of Labour in bringing what was described as “a purely technical and very trivial case’’ before the Arbitration Court, while at the same time it had allowed the grocers of Sunnier and New Brighton to openly flout the law, was the subject of sharp comment by Mr Justice Frazer at the Arbitration Court today. Judge Frazer said that the Court was at a loss to understand why the Department brought such an action, when on the evidence before' them it must have understood that it was most unlikely that any court would impose a penalty or regard the matter as anything hut a very trivial and excusable breach. It seemed strange that the action should have been brought when only the other day at Christchurch the Court was informed that for several weeks, for months in fact, the Department had a lowed the grocers of New Brighton and Sunnier to flout the award in connection with closing clay. Some grocers wanted to keep the award, but were forced into breaking it by the action of the Department. This had been going on for weeks and months. Why no action had been taken passed comprehension.