WORKERS' COMPENSATION FOR ACCIDENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11749, 3 September 1901, Page 5

WORKERS' COMPENSATION FOR ACCIDENTS.

FIRST CLAIM UNDER THE NEW ACT. CASE BEFORE THE ARBITRATION COURT. A case will come before the Arbitration Court in Auckland on an early date, which is of great importance to employers of labour, in respect that it is the first claim heard in Auckland, and in all probability the first in New Zealand, under the Workers' Compensation for Accidents Act, 1900. This Act provides for claims arising out of industrial accidents coming before the Arbitration Court for settlement, and a case for arbitration was lodged yesterday with the clerk of awards (Mr. 11. Goring Thomas) by Wm. G. my the, father of the young mau who was killed at the Nihotupu waterworks on June 20 last. The work was being carried out for the City Council by t.lie late Mr. Hugh Fulton, and it will be remembered that Mr. Fulton, the contractor, and the young man Smythe, were both killed by a landslip. The claim is for £400 made by W. G. Smythe. on his own behalf, and on behalf of a daughter, Henrietta Smythe, who was also a dependent of the deceased man Smythe, the respondents being Mrs. Fulton, widow of the late Hugh Fulton, who was Smythe's employer, the Auckland City Council and the Henrietta Smythe already mentioned, the latter being joined us a respondent only on account of a question arising as to her claim as a dependent. The claim sets forth that the late W. G. Smythe, during the term of his employment with the deceased. Hugh Fulton, extending over some eight months, earned an average weekly wage of £2 8s 7d, and that the dependents of the deceased W. G. Smythe, namely, Henrietta Smythe (sister) and W. G. Smythe (father) were wholly dependent on the earnings of the deceased at the timo of his death. The claim is for £400, to be apportioned £300 to the claimant (the father) and £100 to Henrietta Smythe, and applied by the father towards the maintenance and support of himself and his daughter. The application for arbitration on this claim was, as stated, filed yesterday with the clerk of awards, who forwards it to the president of tho Court, who Mill fix a day for the hearing of the case. Intimations of the claim have been served on Mrs. Fulton and on the City Council.