Federated Seamen's Union of Australasia Claimant; and Commonwealth Steamship Owners' Association [1922] HCA 7

144 HIGH COURT

(HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA.]

THE FEDERATED SEAMEN'S UNION OF } AUSTRALASIA .

AND

THE COMMONWEALTH STEAMSHIP

OWNERS' ASSOCIATION AND OTHERS } Resroumaay

THE KING AGAINST

THE PRESIDENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF CONCILIATION AND ARBITRATION AND FEDERATED SEAMEN'S UNION OF AUSTRALASIA, —

Ex parre THE COMMONWEALTH STEAMSHIP OWN! ASSOCIATION AND OTHERS.

H.C. or A, Industrial Arbitration—Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitratit 1922. Award—Validity—Inconsistency with Commonwealth statutes—Seamen' ey —Time for payment—* Monthly" —Navigation Act 1912-1920 (No. 4 of 191

Sypyey, No.1 of 1921), secs. 45, 46, 77, 83, 292, 393—Commonwealth Conciliation an

April 10, 11, Arbitration Act 1904-1921 (No. 13 of 1904—No. 29 of 1921), secs. 18, 24. 13. ¥ See. 77 (2) of the Navigation Act 1912-1920 provides that " In cases wl pe Cy the seamen are engaged on time or running agreement on an Australian-trad oatissing,, or limited coast-trade ship, all wages earned shall be paid monthly not lat and Starke JJ than the first day of each month, or thereafter within twenty-four hours aft

the ship first arrives at any port in Australia at which there is a ban institution (other than a savings bank)." Sec. 77 (3) provides that "

30 C.L.R.} OF AUSTRALIA.

master or owner who, without sufficient cause, fails to make payment at any prescribed time, shall pay to the seaman a sum not exceeding the amount of two days' pay for each of the days during which payment is delayed beyond that time."

Held, by Isaacs, Higgins and Starke JJ. (Knox C.J. and Gavan Duffy J. dissenting), that the words "all wages earned shall be paid monthly " impose a duty on an owner to pay the wages of seamen not less frequently than once a month, but do not prohibit him from paying them more frequently, and that the parties might agree, and, therefore, that the President of the Com- monwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration might by an award direct, that wages be paid fortnightly.