PORTERING IN HOTELS.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XX, Issue 1121, 5 October 1911, Page 22

PORTERING IN HOTELS.

A case of some interest to hotel licensees was dealt with by the Arbitration Court on Tuesday last. The Labour Department, at the request of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees’ Union of Workers, sought for a ruling as to whether or not a worker employed at the Queen’s Hotel, Auckland, for three and a-half hours during the evenings was a porter within the meaning of the existing award. Mr. Gohns, Inspector of Awards, in stating the case said the question had been before Mr. Kettle in the Magistrate’s Court in April last, and on the evidence it was then decided that the

person employed was not a porter, and the case was dismissed; fresh evidence would, however, be now called to show that the work performed was portering as generally underunderstood, he then called in support of, his contention a member of the Union who had worked as porter for a short period of 22 hours at the Queen’s Hotel. Mr. Singer, who represented Mr. G. H. Foster, the licensee of the hotel, questioned the witness desiring to know whether or not portering did hot necessarily include the carrying of luggage, attending to messages and such like. The witness admitted that that was so and also that the person employed by Mr. Foster did none of this work.

The man employed at the hotel during the evenings was next called by the Labour Department, and in answer to Mr. Singer stated that he had been told by the licensee to do nothing but keep order in the bar and passages and to see that no undesirables entered the premises.

After a brief deliberation the Court, without calling any defence, ruled that the work performed was, from the evidence, not that of portering within the meaning of the award, and gave judgment accordingly. Mr. Singer, in view of the fact that ' case had incurred a considerable amount of his client’s time and attention by being twice dealt with, asked for costs. The Court awarded the sum of £2 2s-