A “WORKING MANAGER”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23527, 16 June 1938, Page 16

A “WORKING MANAGER”

QUESTION OF STATUS COURT RESERVES DECISION (Peb United Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 15. The Full Court this afternoon resumed the hearing of the appeal of Percy Smith, which was heard m part on Monday. Mr C. H. Taylor, of the Crown Law Office, is appearing for the respondent. Inspector Wilson contended that a “working manager" must be included as a worker for the purpose of ascertaining whether more than two workers are employed in any particular factory. The meaning of the term “worker” in Section 4 of the Factories Amendment Act, 1936, could be ascertained by referring to the definition of a worker in the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, where the definition was wide enough to include a working manager. As regards the meaning of the term “ regularly ” in the section. he submitted that the court would take the general practice of a factory over a period of a year and not over shorter periods, which Mr Stevenson contended should be The court reserved its decision. Percy Smith was charged at New Plymouth in February last that ; being the manager of the Waitoitoi Dairy Company’s factory, he allowed a worker to be employed between August 11 and September 22, 1937, for seven days,each week, contrary to Section 4 of the Factories Amendment Act, 1936. That section provides that no worker should be employed for seven days a week in a dairy factory, but exempts any dairy factory or creamery where not more than two workers are regularly employed. The practice at the Waitoitoi factory was to vary the number of men employed according to seasonal requirements. At the period covered by the information the staff consisted of Smith, employed as a “working manager,” and two other workers. Smith contended that, in ascertaining whether or not there were sufficient workers to make Section 4 applicable, he should not be counted as a worker. The magistrate, however, held that he should be, and that in deciding whether or not more than two workers were regularly employed, regard should be had only to the seasonal period to which the information related.