“MUCH OVERWORKED”

Taranaki Daily News, 27 December 1929, Page 20

“MUCH OVERWORKED”

THE ARBITRATION COURT SCHEME TO DIVIDE TRIBUNAL. REVISION OF SYSTEM URGED. Agitation of increasing strength is current in. favour of a revision Of the Arbitration Court system so as to provide for the hearing of industrial disputes and compensation claims by separate tribunals. Evidence is not lacking that tho court as at present constituted, is very much overworked, and. it would appear to be highly necessary that steps should bo taken to relieve tho impossible conditions that exist. Dissatisfaction is ’ rife, particularly among Labour 011x2103, at the delay that is occasioned in disposing of cases coming before the court, which, according to the Statute, is required to sit four times a year in each of the principal centres— Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin —and to visit smaller centres at tho discretion of the Judge, Mr. Justice Frazer. Latterly, however, the court has been unable to fulfil its engagements, and attention to tho main Cities of the DominioV has dwindled to three, and ih some cases only two visits a yean There ia no suggestion that Mr. Justice Frazer and his assessors are neglectful of their duties, hut the volume of work requiring . their attention has become . more than is possible for a single court to cope with. In recent times the .average -duration of sitting at Auckland, says the Star, has been five weeks. ■lt will, .therefore, be seen that if . Auckland is allotted twenty weeks of the court’s time in the year, there vvill -not ba much attention paid to-other districts- claims. :

. MANY COMPENSATION CLABIS. The /increase,. in work' is not due to tho • ■ industrial side of ■ the, court’s- activities, btit may be attributed to the phenomenal increase-,-in -the? last few years in the- number of compensationclaims coming before it for adjudication. It has been suggested that the ■amendments to the Workers’ Compensation Act, which came .-into force in 1927, have been responsible, to some extent, for the increase in this, branch of tire work, as well, of course, as the general increase in the • population of the Dominion. Inquiries- made at; the office of the Court reveal - that the number of compensation cases actually heard increased by exactly fifty per cent, in 1927 and* 1928 in comparison with previous years, while the figures for tho current twelve months indicate .that tho increase will ( be more nearly in the neighbourhood of 100 per cent. ; It is also probable that the increase is in .part due to large amounts involved in claims, making it more difficult to effect settlements of - cases out of court. In tho cases of certain classes of workers for whom weekly compensation: might closely approximate the amount of their actual earnings, however, there is a natural desire to have the claims thoroughly sifted. It is very desirable that compensation cases should bo disposed of with the utmost facility as delay is frequently detrimental to neurasthenic patients. In many instances an element of traumatic neurasthenia supervenes, an ailment which makes it j very desirable that a settlement should ba reached at the earliest possible date.

DIFFICULTIES OF NEURASTHENICS.

The necessity, for more frequent sittings of the court to deal with cases of this type was made obvious by a medical man, who stated that it was almost impossible to persuade a neurasthenic to accept.- a settlement out of court, for the mq/t distressing feature of his trouble was that he considered himself to be in a far more dangerous condition than he actually was. In cases of this description, nothing but a quick settlement by a competent authority would set the sufferer’s mind at rest and free him from the worry of impending litigation so that he might once more be free to earn his.. living; There were also cases of genuine distress, involving death claims, and claims arising out of a serious disablement, which under present conditions were unavoidably h»’Jd up for months.

Despite industry on the part of the Bench they find it impossible to keep pace, with the demands upon their services. While they deal consistently in ei’glrt hour days, they themselves do not'observe them. They, work overtime without a murmur, and are every willing to study the convenience of counsel and union, advocates by sitting late so as to produce the rapid dispatch of immediate business before them. The syinpathy of both legal and Labour circles are with them in their battle against growing odds, but, nevertheless, the demands for some remedy of the unsatisfactory position that exists are many. The advocacy for two courts that is 'being advanced in Auckland has already been put forward in Wellington and other centres, where it has been suggested that the administration of the Workers’ Compensation Act should be allotted to a separate tribunal, as is the case In Australia. This would be the'\ means of setting apart the industrial court to make fuller investigation of disputes than is at present possible.

CONSTITUTION OF NEW TRIBUNAL

In New South Wales there is a Workers' ■ Compensation Commission, which deals with all applications under the Workers’ Compensation Act. It comprises x a judge and two lay members nominated by the employees and employers, who are appointed for seven year terms. Associated with the commission are two medical officers, one of whom, though not actually a member oi the commission, always sits when the tribunal is dealing with cases involving nu&ical or surgical questions. It is felt that a similar commission would be s”’table for New Zealand requirements Something may come of the agitation for separate courts, as it w'as recently announced by the Minister of Labour (Hon. W. A. Veitch) that a special committee would bo set up after the holidays to carry on investigations and make suggestions for amendments to tn > Workers’ Compensation Act. It is hoped that the finding of the committee will give some relief to the court, and bring about a more satisfactory state of affairs.