BACK PAY CLAIMS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 80, 25 June 1945, Page 3

BACK PAY CLAIMS

LIKELY UNION ACTIONS OVER £1,000,000 INVOLVED The possibility of claims by unions for back overtime pay involving a total of upward of £1,000,000 throughout the Dominion is arousing considerable interest among some of the employers and employees immediately concerned, states the “N.Z. Herald.” The position has arisen out of a decision given by the Full Court last October in United Repair Co., of Auckland, versus Glover. To give the background of the case it should be recalled that the Factories Act Amendment Act, . 1936, provides for a 40-hour week and an eight hour day, but the Court of Arbitration is empowered to extend these hours “for any specified period” to meet the special requirements of a particular industry. Industrial awards contain provision, and there is other legal provision, for their automatic continuance after the expiry of the term—usually one or two years—specified in the award. In United Repair Co. versus Glover the Full Court held that there was no valid hours extension order in existence after the expiry of the award and that the workers were entitled to claim overtime for the hours worked in excess of 40. In the Court’s view the phrase “until the application shall have been disposed of by the Court” signified an indefinite period and not a “specified period” as required. Back pay was recovered accordingly. After this decision the Bakers’ Union in Auckland took action, claiming that their working hours j under their award, which expired in August, 1940, were 40 and that they were entitled to four hours’ overtime back pay. The dispute was referred to an emergency disputes committee under the chairmanship of Mr J. A. Gilmour, S.M. The matter was left to his decision, and he awarded the union back pay for hours worked in excess of 40 as from October 26, 1944, the date of the decision of the Full Court. This meant a little more than three months’ back overtime pay. The proceedings now under consideration are believed to involve claims for back pay dating back to the nominal date of expiry of the awards. Employers who have been looking into the position say that there are 47 industries throughout the Dominion which may be involved, and that in the baking industry alone claims may reach £300,000. The total for all industries is estimated at well over £1,000,000.