Eight Hours (Amendment) Act 1920 (NSW)

EIGHT HOURS (AMENDMENT)

ACT.

Act No. 28, 1920.

An Act to provide for inquiry into and regulation of the working hours of employees ; to amend the Eight Hours Act, 1916, and the Acts relating to Industrial Arbitration; and for purposes consequent thereon or incidental thereto. [Assented to, 29th December, 1920.]

lative Council and Legislative Assembly of New South	BE it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legis­
Wales in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of
the same, as follows :—

1 . This Act may be cited as the "Eight Hours

(Amendment) Act, 1920," and shall be construed with
the Eight Hours Act, 1910.

2 .    Paragraphs (d) , (e) , ( f ) , and (g) of subsection own

of section four, subsection two of section four, and
sections live and six of the Eight Hours Act, 191G, are

hereby repealed.

3 . The following new sections are inserted next after

this Act.

section four of the said Act :—

5. Applications maybe made to the court by any
industrial union of employees or by any trade union

or association of employees for an inquiry into the working hours of employees engaged in any

industry subject to the jurisdiction of the court.

(5. The court may inquire specially into the

working hours of employees engaged in any industry within its jurisdiction and may consider any appli­

cation for a reduction of the working hours fixed by

7. (1) The court shall, when sitting for the pur­

pose aforesaid, be constituted by one of the judges

of the Court of Industrial Arbitration to be
appointed by the Governor for that purpose. Such

judge shall sit as a special court, and (as such judge

may elect) may sit with or without assessors repre­ sentative of the interests of the parties before it in any inquiry or application.

(2) Such assessors shall be appointed in the manner provided by section 13A of the Principal

Act and by the regulations made thereunder.

S. Unless the special court shall otherwise deter­

mine, all employees engaged in any industry within

the jurisdiction of the court shall be deemed to have made application for a reduction of the working hours fixed by this Act in relation to each such industry.

9. Any inquiry or hearing under this Act may

be held or taken in respect of any industry or

division of any industry or any combination,

arrangement or grouping of industries, and in such order of precedence as the special court may direct.

10. The special court shall, on the completion of

each inquiry or hearing, report and recommend to
the Minister respecting the following matters :—

(a) Whether the adoption of a working week of

forty-four hours or, in the case of workmen employed below ground in mines, of less than

forty-four hours will seriously injure the trade of any of the said industries or result

increase in the cost of living. in serious public mischief, or in a serious
(b)	Whether, if the working hours of employees

or any of them are reduced as aforesaid,

there will result a diminution of output, and
if so, to what extent.

(c) Whether by any means production can be increased to an extent sufficient to make up

for the decrease of production (if any)

arising from the reduction of working hours
as aforesaid.

(d)

(d) Whether any increase in the cost of produc­ tion of any goods, commodities or articles of trade or commerce or the supply of any

service will result from the reduction of working hours as aforesaid, and if so, to

what extent.

(e) Whether any, and if so what, means can be adopted to prevent or minimise any increase in the cost of production or the supply of

service which may be found as above-

mentioned.

(f) Whether, owing to competition between any

of the said industries as carried on in this

State and similar industries as carried on in other States or abroad, the interests of (a) the State, (b) employers in such industries, or (c) employees in such industries will be prejudiced by the reduction Of working hours as aforesaid, and if so, to what extent.

(g)	Whether any, and if so what, means can be adopted to prevent or minimise any prejudicial operation of such reduced working hours.
(h)	Whether the conditions, health, comfort, or

well-being of any employees justify a reduc­

tion of working hours as aforesaid.

(i)   Whether the reduction of working hours as aforesaid should be accompanied by a reduc­ tion of wages or by a prohibition of overtime

or by either a qualified or an unlimited right

to work overtime.

(j)	Whether a reduction of working hours as
aforesaid should be accompanied by any condition or provision for the adoption or

continuance of more than one shift of

employees with the object of providing employment in any of the said industries, or

reducing the cost of production, or main­ taining output, or otherwise,
(k)	Generally whether any reduction of working hours as aforesaid is necessary or expedient, and to what extent and subject to what limitations, restrictions, qualifications or
conditions (if any). 11.

11. The special court may without further inquiry confirm and adopt as its report any report made or to be made in relation to the working hours

of employees in any industry by virtue of a Royal

Commission issued to his Honor Judge Beeby on

the twenty-eighth day of September, one thousand
nine hundred and twenty.

12. ( 1 ) The special court shall, for the purposes

of this Act, have and exercise all the powers of the

Court of Industrial Arbitration and of a board,
except the power to make or vary an award.

( 2 ) Notwithstanding any of the provisions

of the Principal Act, the special court may, in the

course of any inquiry or hearing under this Act, investigate or inspect, in the absence of the parties
or any of them, any business or industry in relation

to any of the matters in respect of which it is
directed to report and recommend.

(3) For the purposes aforesaid the special court may appoint such persons as it shall think fit with all necessary powers to investigate, inspect, audit, and report to the special court in respect of any business or industry. Every person so appointed shall take the oath prescribed in respect of members of a board by section nineteen

of the Principal Act.

(4) The result of any investigation, inspec­ tion, or audit made in the absence of the parties or any of them by the special court or any person appointed as aforesaid shall (subject as hereinafter

be entitled to be heard thereon before any report or	provided) be made known to the parties, who shall
recommendation shall be made by the special court in respect of the industry affected by such investi­
gation, inspection, or audit.
(5) Neither the special court nor any person appointed by it as aforesaid shall, without the consent of an employer, disclose to any party or other person any information which will make
known the profits, losses, receipts, outgoings, or
trade secrets of such employer.

13. The Governor may, by' proclamation in the

Government Gazette, adopt the report and recom­

mendation of the special court and declare that the

working hours recommended by the special court
shall, from a date to be fixed by the proclamation, be the ordinary working hours for the employees therein mentioned, subject to any limitations, restrictions, qualifications, or conditions contained in the report.

1-1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any award

or industrial agreement, the working hours fixed by
any proclamation as aforesaid shall, subject as aforesaid, be deemed to be fixed by this Act, and shall be the ordinary working hours for the

employees mentioned in the proclamation, and the provisions of the proclamation shall be binding and enforceable in the same manner as if they had been

made by or included in an award of the court or a

board.

15. (1) Wages fixed by any award upon a weekly

basis shall not be reduced by reason only of any reduction of the ordinary working hours by procla­ mation as aforesaid unless a reduction of wages is

provided for by such proclamation as a condition of

any reduction of hours.

(2) Wages fixed by any award upon a daily

or hourly basis shall, as from the date of any
reduction of hours proclaimed as aforesaid and without any further order of the court or other variation or amendment of the award, be increased to such amounts as will provide each employee working
full time the same amount of wages as he would

have received for working full time under the pro­

award rates of wages is provided for by such pro­	visions of the award, unless a continuance of the
clamation as a condition of any reduction of hours.
(3) Any increase in wages under the last preceding subsection shall be binding and enforce­
able in the same manner as if the same had been
made by an award of the court or a board.
1G. No industrial agreement shall be entered into and no award made fixing ordinary working hours in excess of those proclaimed for any

industry

industry or division of any industry, or permitting overtime to be worked otherwise than in conformity

with the provision of any proclamation issued under

this Act, and any such agreement or award shall

be illegal and void.

17. Rates or pay for hours worked as overtime
or in excess of ordinary working hours in any

industry in respect of which a proclamation under this Act does not prohibit overtime or work in excess of ordinary hours shall not be fixed by an award or industrial agreement at less than the rates

which have heretofore been fixed by award or

industrial agreement or customarily paid in any
such industry.

18. Where in any industry the ordinary working hours are at the commencement of this Act fixed

by award, industrial agreement, or well-established

practice, such ordinary working hours shall not be

exceeded in any award or industrial agreement

thereafter made in respect of such industry.
19. Application may be made at any time during the currency of an award or industrial agreement to make such variations or amendments as are necessary to bring it into conformity with or to

give effect to the provisions of this Act or any

proclamation made hereunder.

20. Any contract or agreement, express or implied and whether verbal or in writing, which provides for the working of hours in excess of

those prescribed by this Act or by any proclama­ tion made as aforesaid, shall be illegal and void, and any person making such contract or agreement shall be liable to a penaltynot exceeding fifty pounds,

recoverable in a summary way before a stipendiary or police magistrate or any two justices in petty sessions.

21. Nothing in this Act shall be a defence to an

employer or shall exempt him from any liability in any action or other proceeding brought against him by any person whether an employee or not

for the recovery of compensation for injuries or

recovery of wages or for any other purpose.

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