Compensation Bill

Northern Advocate, 24 August 1943, Page 2

Compensation Bill

l! (p.A.) WELLINGTON, This Dav. 1 On the motion of the* Prime Minister. urgenev was granted in the House ot , RciV-esentatives yesterday lor the passing of the Local Legislation Bill, Social Secur- ■. itv Amendment Bill, Ago benefits and i,lnvalids Benefits (Reciprocity with Australia) Bill and Industrial Conciliation and I Arbitration Amendment Bill. Extensions to the law relating to pay- : ment of workers’ compensation m certain /circumstances are among the provision ol the Workers’ Compensation Amendment ’ Bill which was introduced yesterday. The I b• 11 was read pro forma a second time And referred to the Labour Bills Comdealing with payment of compensation where an injured woikoi is able to perforin light work provides that ! a compensation court or magistrate shall ’ not grant leave to end or diminish weekly 'payments of compensation to any worker ; upon the ground that the worker .is 'pit bally recovered unless he is working In some suitable employment or business, i Another clause provides that wnere an ■ employer is required by Statute to pay an injured worker wages lor sonic penod ■'after an accident, payment of compensation is to be postponed until the expir- • ai ion of the period for which wages are paid That period will be deducted from he period lor which compensation would otherwise be payable. The amount so ’paid as wages is not to be deducted from an.v compensation payable in respect of Ithe accident. The Bill also provides that loss of the lens of an eye shall be a schedule injury for which compensation |shall be 30 per cent, of full compensation as for total incapacity. ' Compensation is to be paid tor incapacity resulting from certain cases ol hernia ’and the compensation court or a magistrate may order compensation to cease unless the worker undergoes a surgical i'operation. If an operation is undeigone, compensation is to continue for 12 weeks . ; from the date of it or such period as a ■court or magistrate may order. , Another clause enables a worker to ,ireeover compensation if he meets with an ■ [accident while travelling to or from !work bv means of transport other than fa public passenger transport service and ; approved or provided by an employer, in ‘ cases where a doctor certifies that an , 'in jured worker should receive treatment ‘mot available in his town of residence and '[necessitating him travelling to some other Town, an employer is required to pay 'reasonable expenses incurred for the transport involved, expenses in any one case not to exceed £25. A final clause ' requires where two or more employers bare jointly liable for the same workers. II thev mav take out a joint insurance policy.