ILLNESS OF STEWARD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20263, 24 May 1929, Page 14

ILLNESS OF STEWARD.

COMPANY'S LIABILITY.

MEDICAL BENEFITS REFUSED. BREACH OF THE AWARD. A'*' A judgment of importance to shipping companies was delivered in the Magistrate's- Court yesterday by Mr. E. C. Cutten, S.M., who gave judgment for the Federated Cooks and Stewards' Industrial Association (Mr. Schramm), in an action against the Northern Steamship Company, Limited (Mr. Cocker). Tho defendant company was sued by the plaintiff for a penalty of £lO for ail alleged breach of clause 26 of the Cooks and Stewards' (Northern Steamship Company, Limited) Award. A steward employed on tho defendant's steamer Taniwha while the vessel was at Auckland became ill and had to be left on shore to undergo an operation for appendicitis. The breach alleged was that tho company had failed to grant the steward medical benefits under clauso 26 of the award. Defendant denied liability to grant tho steward medical benefits. '

The magistrate said clause 26 of the award provided: "Where tho steward is invalided on shore in New Zealand with illness or accident contracted in tho service of the ship, at any time after joining the vessel, ho shall be granted the benefits provided in section 6 of the New Zealand Shipping arid Seaman Amendment Act, 1911." When in hospital, in answer to questions put to him by the doctor, the steward stated he had had previous attacks of pain, the first about two years ago. He stated in evidence, however, that ho took these attacks to be cases of ordinary internal pain, due to unwise eating. They 1 not incapacitate him from carrying out his duties. Tho steward joined the ship on his last term of service in August, 1928, and the illness took place in October.

Defendant had brought a considerable quantity of medical evidence to the effect that it might he taken that the onset of the steward's illness took place at 'lie time of the first of these attacks two years ago and that therefore the illness was riot one contracted in the service of the ship. " J do not think this point is of importance in this class of case," said Mr. Cutten.. "The objoct of the Act is to make reasonable provision for a seaman who is left on shore owing to illness. The important points here are that the seaman has become ill in the service of the ship, he is incapacitated from the performance of his duties and has had to be left on shore. These features are all present in the case of the steward under consideration. He was entitled undet (ho award to the medical benefits provided by the Act, and the defendant in refusing to grant him these benefits has committed a breach of the award." Judgment was given for plaintiff for £2 and costs.