CASUAL ORCHARD HANDS

Southland Times, Issue 23308, 18 September 1937, Page 10

CASUAL ORCHARD HANDS

PAY FOR HOLIDAYS ALLEGED NOT NECESSARY

(United Press Association)

NELSON, September 17.

A decision of importance to fruit growers was delivered by the magistrate, Mr W. E. Maunsell, S.M., this morning, the effect of which is that casual orchard hands need not be paid for the Good Friday holiday. As a test case a charge was made against Arthur McKee of employing an agricultural worker in the orchard and failing to allow a holiday on Good Friday without deduction, and the information was dismissed.

The magistrate held that section 3a of the Agricultural Workers’ Extension Order was ultra vires; further, that the clause did not extend to casual workers. “There must necessarily be continuity of relationship. It is obviously repugnant to treat a casual engagement as a continuous one. Had Friday not been a holiday, the employee may or may not have received casual employment. At any rate he had not a contractual right to such employment. Therefore, there was no failure to pay wages in breach of the extension order.”