TAILORS’ AWARD.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3353, 20 October 1911, Page 2

TAILORS’ AWARD.

QUESTION OF APPRENTICESHIP. | MAGISTRATE’S IMPORTANT j DECISION. ; Judgment was given by Air W. A. : Barton, S.M., at the Magistrate’s Court yesterday morning in the ease vi \\’. 11. Westbrooke, inspector of Awards, v. \V. Atkinson (Mr Stock and Air Coleman): The- action was to recover £lO as a penalty lor an alleged breach of the Auckland tailors’ award dated October ' 16th, 1906, in that the defendant, dur- • ing the month of August, 1911, failed to serve his apprenticeship as required by the said award. After citing the facts of the case and quoting the evidence at length, his Worship dealt with points at issue. The grounds of defence were that the proceedings were brought under the award of 1966, which is not ! now in force in the Poverty Bay district; that there is nothing in the Act or tire award which creates the offence charged; that the relation of master and apprentice had not existed; that if a breach liatl been committed the claim was for £lO when only £5 could be claimed, and that there was nothing in the Act providing for any party cited in the first award being exempted from the second, and therefore the 1906 award was dead. His Worship held th.at as the award was silent on the question as to whether an apprenticeship -should be in writing, in the ah- | sene© of express exemption by the I award from the operation of the com- I mon law, there must lie an agreement 1 in writing to hind the parties, and as there was no agreement in this case the defendant had committed no offence. '

Having found in favor of defendant upon ‘ the foregoing point it was unnecessary to decide the other questions raised, but his Worship said lie was prepared to express his opinion on the second ground of defence. He held that no settlement had been arrived at regarding Poverty Bay and the 1909 dispute, in which the Court reserved.the right to make a. supplementary award with regard to such employers; therefore the 1906 a ward had not been superseded by another award so far as Poverty Bay was concerned, and was still in full force and effect in this district. Under the circumstances no costs were allowed.- >