AGRICULTURAL WAGES ACT, 1936

Number 53 of 1936.

AGRICULTURAL WAGES ACT, 1936.

AN ACT TO MAKE PROVISION FOR REGULATING THE WAGES OF AGRICULTURAL WORKERS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED WITH THE MATTERS AFORESAID. [28th November, 1936.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:—

1 Definition.

1.—In this Act the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Agriculture.

2 Construction of expressions “agricultural worker” and “agricultural employer.”

2.—(1) In this Act—

the expression “agricultural worker” means a person employed under a contract of service or apprenticeship whose work under such contract is or includes work in agriculture, but does not include a person whose work under any such contract is mainly domestic service;

the expression “agricultural employer” means a person who carries on the trade or business of agriculture and who employs other persons as agricultural workers for the purposes of such trade or business.

• (2) If any question arises under this Act whether any employment or any class of employment is such as to make the person employed therein an agricultural worker or whether any trade or business carried on by a person is the trade or business of agriculture, the question shall be decided by the Minister whose decision shall be final.

• (3) In this section the word “agriculture” includes dairy-farming farming and the use of land as grazing, meadow, or pasture land or orchard or osier land or woodland or for market gardens or nursery grounds.

3 Agricultural wages districts.

3.—(1) The Minister shall, before the commencement of this Act, by order divide Saorstát Eireann into such and so many districts as he thinks proper and declare that each such district shall be an agricultural wages district for the purposes of this Act.

• (2) The Minister may at any time, either before or after the commencement of this Act, by order amend an order made under this section, including this sub-section.

• (3) In this Act the expression “wages district” means a district which is for the time being declared to be an agricultural wages district by an order made under this section.

4 Agricultural wages areas and committees for such areas.

4.—(1) The Minister shall, before the commencement of this Act, by order do the following things, that is to say:—

• (a) group the several wages districts in Saorstát Eireann into such and so many areas (in this Act referred to as agricultural wages areas) as he thinks proper;

• (b) declare, in respect of the committee to be established under this section for each agricultural wages area, that the number of ordinary members of such committee shall be the number (not being less than two for each wages district included in such area) specified in such order.

• (2) After the commencement of this Act the Minister may, in any calendar year, by order, made not later than the 30th day of September in such calendar year, do the following things:—

• (a) group any two or more wages districts into such and so many new agricultural wages areas as he thinks proper;

• (b) declare, in respect of the committee to be established under this section for such one new agricultural wages area or, where more than one new agricultural wages area is constituted by such order, for each such new agricultural wages area, that the number of ordinary members of such committee shall be the number (not being less than two for each wages district included in such area) specified in such order.

• (3) Every order made under the immediately preceding sub-section shall come into force on the 1st day of January next following the date of such order.

• (4) Whenever an order is made under sub-section (2) of this section, then as on and from the date on which such order comes into force, each agricultural wages area existing before the said date which includes any wages district to which such order relates shall cease to exist, and the committee for such agricultural wages area shall be dissolved.

• (5) In this section the expression “the appropriate number” when used in relation to the ordinary members of the committee for an agricultural wages area means the number declared by an order made under this section to be the number of ordinary members for such committee.

• (6) On the commencement of this Act there shall be established for each agricultural wages area constituted by the order made under sub-section (1) of this section a committee to fulfil the functions assigned to it by this Act.

• (7) Whenever the Minister makes an order under sub-section (2) of this section then as on and from the date on which such order comes into force there shall be established for each agricultural wages area constituted by such order a committee to fulfil the functions assigned to it by this Act.

• (8) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to the committee for an agricultural wages area (including a new agricultural wages area established by virtue of an order made under sub-section (2) of this section), that is to say:—

• (a) such committee shall consist of a chairman and the appropriate number of ordinary members;

• (b) the chairman shall be the person who is the Chairman of the Agricultural Wages Board;

• (c) the ordinary members shall be nominated by the Minister;

• (d) one half of the ordinary members shall be persons who are, in the opinion of the Minister, representative of agricultural employers in the said area and the other half shall be persons who are, in the opinion of the Minister, representative of agricultural workers in the said area;

• (e) the Minister in nominating the ordinary members shall nominate, in respect of each wages district included in such area, at least one person who is, in the opinion of the Minister, representative of agricultural employers in such wages district and at least one person who is, in the opinion of the Minister, representative of agricultural workers in such wages district;

• (f) the Minister shall, before the date on which such committee is established, nominate the appropriate number of persons to be ordinary members, and each of the persons so nominated is in this sub-section referred to as a first ordinary member;

• (g) the Minister shall, unless such committee will, at the expiration of such calendar year, be dissolved by the operation of sub-section (4) of this section, in the calendar year in which such committee is established, but subsequent to the date of establishment, and in every subsequent calendar year other than a calendar year at the expiration of which such committee will be dissolved by the operation of the said sub-section (4), nominate the appropriate number of persons to be ordinary members;

• (h) every first ordinary member shall, unless he sooner dies or resigns, hold office from the date of the establishment of such committee until the 31st day of December next following the said date;

• (i) every ordinary member (other than a first ordinary member or a person nominated to fill a casual vacancy) shall, unless he sooner dies or resigns, hold office for a period of twelve months from the 1st day of January next following the date of his nomination;

• (j) an ordinary member retiring on the expiration by effluxion of time of his term of office shall be eligible for renomination;

• (k) whenever a vacancy (in this sub-section referred to as a casual vacancy) occurs amongst the ordinary members by the death or resignation of an ordinary member, the Minister shall nominate a person to fill such vacancy and the person so nominated shall, unless he sooner dies or resigns, hold office until the next following 31st day of December;

• (l) in appointing a person to fill a casual vacancy the Minister shall have regard to paragraphs (d) and (e) of this sub-section.

• (9) A member of the committee for an agricultural wages area may resign his office as such member by letter addressed and sent to the secretary of such committee and every such resignation shall take effect upon the receipt of such letter by the secretary.

• (10) A committee for an agricultural wages area may act notwithstanding any vacancy in the membership of such committee.

• (11) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance appoint a secretary for each committee for an agricultural wages area.

• (12) The Minister may by regulations made by him under this Act regulate the procedure of committees for agricultural wages areas.

5 Establishment of Agricultural Wages Board.

5.—(1) On the commencement of this Act there shall be established a board (in this Act referred to as the Board) to be styled and known as the Agricultural Wages Board to fulfil the functions assigned to it by this Act.

• (2) The Board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal (which shall be judicially noticed) and power to sue and be sued in its corporate name and to hold and dispose of land.

• (3) The Board shall consist of twelve members, namely—

• (a) a chairman (in this Act referred to as the Chairman of the Board), and

• (b) eleven ordinary members (in this Act referred to as ordinary members), namely—

• (i) three members (in this Act referred to as neutral members) nominated by the Minister,

• (ii) four members (in this Act referred to as employers' members) nominated by the Minister, and

• (iii) four members (in this Act referred to as workers' members) nominated by the Minister.

• (4) The employers' members shall be persons who are, in the opinion of the Minister, representative of agricultural employers and the workers' members shall be persons who are, in the opinion of the Minister, representative of agricultural workers.

6 The Chairman of the Board.

6.—(1) The Minister shall as soon as may be after the passing of this Act and thereafter as occasion requires appoint a person to be the Chairman of the Board.

• (2) The Chairman of the Board shall hold office during the pleasure of the Minister.

• (3) Whenever the Chairman of the Board is through ill-health or other sufficient cause temporarily incapacitated from performing the duties of his office the Minister may nominate from among the neutral members of the Board a person to perform, during such incapacity, the duties of the Chairman of the Board and the person so appointed shall during such incapacity have all the powers of the Chairman of the Board and be deemed for the purposes of this Act to be the Chairman of the Board but shall during such incapacity be deemed, for the purposes of section 13 of this Act, not to be an ordinary member.

• (4) There shall be paid to the Chairman of the Board such remuneration and such allowances for expenses as the Minister, with the approval of the Minister for Finance, shall appoint.

7 Nomination and term of office of ordinary members of the Board.

7.—(1) The Minister shall before the commencement of this Act nominate eleven persons to be ordinary members of the Board and each of the persons so nominated is in this section referred to as a first ordinary member.

• (2) The Minister shall in each nomination year nominate eleven persons to be ordinary members of the Board.

• (3) Every first ordinary member shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns, or becomes disqualified, hold office from the date of the commencement of this Act until the 31st day of December, 1939.

• (4) Every ordinary member (other than a first ordinary member or a person appointed to fill a casual vacancy of the Board) shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns, or becomes disqualified, hold office for a period of three years from the 1st day of January next following the nomination year in which he was nominated.

• (5) An ordinary member of the Board retiring on the expiration by effluxion of time of his term of office shall be eligible for renomination.

• (6) For the purposes of this section each of the following years shall be a nomination year, that is to say, the year 1939, the year 1942, the year 1945, and so on.

8 Resignation and disqualification of ordinary members of the Board.

8.—(1) An ordinary member of the Board may at any time resign his office as such member by a letter addressed and sent to the secretary of the Board and every such resignation shall take effect upon the receipt of such letter by the secretary.

• (2) If and whenever an ordinary member of the Board is adjudged bankrupt, or makes a composition with his creditors, or ceases to be ordinarily resident in Saorstát Eireann, or absents himself, without the consent of the Board, from all meetings of the Board for a period of six months, he shall be disqualified for continuing to be and shall cease to be an ordinary member.

9 Filling of casual vacancies amongst ordinary members of the Board.

9.—(1) Whenever a vacancy (in this section referred to as a casual vacancy) occurs in the membership of the Board by reason of the death, resignation, or disqualification, of an ordinary member, the Chairman of the Board shall notify the Minister of such vacancy, and the Minister shall appoint to fill such vacancy—

• (a) in case such ordinary member was a neutral member, such person as he thinks proper, or

• (b) in case such ordinary member was an employers' member, a person who is, in the opinion of the Minister, representative of agricultural employers, or

• (c) in case such ordinary member was a workers' member, a person who is, in the opinion of the Minister, representative of agricultural workers.

• (2) Every person appointed to fill a casual vacancy shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns, or becomes disqualified, hold office as an ordinary member for the residue of the term of office for which the member whose death, resignation, or disqualification, occasioned the vacancy would have held office if he had not died, resigned or become disqualified.

10 Staff of the Board.

10.—The Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may appoint a person to be secretary of the Board and such and so many other persons as he shall consider necessary to be officers (other than secretary) of the Board, and such persons shall hold office upon such terms and be remunerated at such rates and in such manner as the Minister for Finance shall direct.

11 Procedure of the Board.

11.—(1) The Board may act notwithstanding one or more vacancies amongst the ordinary members.

• (2) The Minister may by order make regulations in relation to the procedure of the Board.

• (3) Subject to any regulations made by the Minister under the immediately preceding sub-section, the Board shall regulate by standing orders or otherwise the procedure to be observed and the business to be transacted at its meetings.

12 Meetings of the Board.

12.—(1) The Board shall hold its first meeting on such day and at such time and place as the Minister shall appoint.

• (2) Subject to the provisions of this section, the Board shall hold such and so many meetings and at such time as may be necessary for the proper discharge of its functions under this Act.

• (3) The Chairman of the Board shall constitute a quorum at a meeting of the Board.

• (4) No meeting of the Board shall be held unless the Chairman of the Board is present thereat.

13 Determination of questions by the Board.

13.—The following provisions shall have effect in relation to the making of an order at a meeting of the Board, that is to say:—

• (a) if no ordinary members or only one ordinary member are or is present at such meeting the Chairman of the Board shall make such order and such order as so made by the Chairman of the Board shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to have been duly made by the Board at such meeting;

• (b) if two or more ordinary members are present at such meeting, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

• (i) in case such ordinary members include at least one employers' member and one workers' member and all such ordinary members pass unanimously a resolution in favour of the making of such order in terms specified in such resolution, such order shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to have been duly made in such terms by the Board at such meeting, and

• (ii) in any other case, the Chairman of the Board may, as he thinks fit, either adjourn the making of such order to the next meeting of the Board or make such order, and in the latter event such order as so made by the Chairman of the Board shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to have been duly made by the Board at such meeting.

14 Minutes of meetings of the Board.

14.—The Board shall keep in a book to be provided by it for the purpose, minutes of the proceedings at every meeting of the Board, and all such minutes shall be signed either at the meeting to which they relate by the Chairman of the Board or at the next meeting by the Chairman of the Board and when so signed shall be admitted in evidence.

15 The seal of the Board.

15.—(1) The Board shall provide and have a common seal.

• (2) The seal of the Board shall be authenticated by the signature of the Chairman of the Board.

• (3) Every document purporting to be an order or other instrument issued or made by the Board and to be sealed with the seal of the Board authenticated in the manner provided by this section shall be received in evidence and shall until the contrary is shown be deemed to be such order or instrument without proof of the authority or signature of the person signing the same.

16 Evidence of orders of the Board.

16.—In any legal proceedings the production of a document purporting to be a copy of an order made by the Board and to be certified to be a true copy by the Chairman of the Board or secretary of the Board shall be sufficient evidence of the order, and no proof shall be required of the handwriting or official position of the person certifying the same.

17 Orders of the Board fixing minimum rates of wages.

17.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section the Board shall, as soon as may be after the commencement of this Act and thereafter from time to time as they think proper, by order fix, in respect of each wages district, the minimum rates of wages for agricultural workers for time work, and may, if and so far as they think it necessary, fix, in respect of such district, the minimum rates of wages for agricultural workers for piece work.

• (2) Any minimum rates fixed by the Board in respect of a wages district may be so fixed as to apply universally to such district or to any special class of agricultural workers or to any special part of such district or to any special class in a special part, subject in each case to any exceptions which may be made for employment of any special character and so as to vary according as the employment is for a day, week, month, or other period, or according to the number of working hours or the conditions of the employment, or so as to provide for a differential rate in the case of overtime.

• (3) Any order made by the Board under this section may define the benefits or advantages (not being benefits or advantages prohibited by law) which may be reckoned as payment of wages in lieu of payment in cash and the value at which they are to be reckoned.

• (4) Subject to the provisions of this section, the Board may at any time by order amend or revoke an order made under this section including this sub-section.

• (5) An order made by the Board under this section may relate to any number of wages districts and may contain different provisions in relation to different such districts.

• (6) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to every order made by the Board under sub-section (1) of this section fixing minimum rates of wages, that is to say:—

• (a) the Board shall, before making such order serve notice of their intention to make such order on, in case the order is intended to relate to one wages district only or to two or more wages districts in the same agricultural wages area, the committee for the agricultural wages area which includes such district or districts or, in case such order is intended to relate to two or more districts included in different agricultural wages areas, the committee for each such area;

• (b) where the notice is to be served on one committee only, the said committee may within two months after the date of such service make to the Board recommendations in relation to such minimum rates;

• (c) where the notice is to be served on two or more committees, each such committee may, within two months after the date of such service, make to the Board recommendations in relation to such minimum rates so far as such minimum rates apply in respect of any wages district included in its agricultural wages area;

• (d) the Board shall not make such order until the expiration of the said two months, unless recommendations have been previously made by the committee or committees upon whom such notice has been served;

• (e) in case any recommendations are made by the said committee or committees before the expiration of the said two months, the Board shall take into consideration such recommendations in making such order.

• (7) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to any order (in this sub-section referred to as an amending order) made by the Board under sub-section (4) of this section amending or revoking an order made by the Board, that is to say:—

• (a) the Board shall, before making such amending order, serve a draft of such amending order on, in case it is intended to relate to one wages district only or to two or more wages districts in the same agricultural wages area, the committee for the agricultural wages area which includes such district or districts or, in case such order is intended to relate to two or more wages districts included in different agricultural wages areas, the committee for each such area;

• (b) where the said draft is to be served on one committee only, the said committee may within two months after the date of such service make to the Board recommendations in relation to such amending order;

• (c) where the said draft is to be served on two or more committees, each such committee may, within two months after the date of such service make to the Board recommendations in relation to such amending order so far as it applies in respect of any wages district included in its agricultural wages area;

• (d) the Board shall not make the amending order until the expiration of the said two months, unless recommendations have been previously made by the committee or committees upon whom such draft was served;

• (e) in case any recommendations are made by the said committee or committees before the expiration of the said two months, the Board shall take into consideration such recommendations in making such amending order.

• (8) The making of an order by the Board shall be prima facie evidence that the requirements of sub-sections (6) and (7) of this section have been complied with.

• (9) Any document required by this section to be served on the committee for an agricultural wages area shall be served on such committee in one or other of the following ways, that is to say:—

• (a) by delivering such document to the secretary of such committee;

• (b) by sending by post in a prepaid registered letter addressed to the said secretary at his last known place of abode such document.

• (10) Every order made under this section shall be laid before Dáil Eireann as soon as may be after it is made, and, if a resolution annulling such order is passed by Dáil Eireann within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which Dáil Eireann has sat after such order is so laid before it, such order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under such order.

18 Exemption of certain agricultural workers from provisions of this Act.

18.—If, on application, the Board are satisfied that any person employed or desiring to be employed as an agricultural worker, on time work to which a minimum rate fixed under the Act is applicable is so affected by any physical injury or mental deficiency or any infirmity due to age or to any other cause that he is incapacitated from earning that minimum rate, the Board shall grant to the person a permit exempting as from the date of the application, or from any later day specified in the permit, the employment of the worker from the provisions of this Act requiring wages to be paid at not less than the minimum rate, subject to such conditions as may be specified in the permit.

19 Offences and legal proceedings.

19.—(1) Where an order fixing any minimum rate of wages has been made by the Board under this Act and is in force, every person who, being an agricultural employer, employs any other person who is by virtue of such employment an agricultural worker shall, in cases to which such minimum rate is applicable, pay to such other person wages at a rate not less than the appropriate minimum rate under such order.

• (2) If any person acts in contravention of this section such person shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds and, in the case of a continuing offence, a fine not exceeding one pound for each day during which the offence is continued.

• (3) In any proceedings against a person under this section it shall lie with such person to prove that he has paid wages at not less than the minimum rate.

• (4) In any proceedings against a person under this section the court may, whether there is a conviction or not, if satisfied that such person has failed in relation to any other person employed by him as an agricultural worker to comply with sub-section (1) of this section, order such person to pay to such other person such sum as may be found by the court to represent the difference between the amount which ought at the minimum rate to have been paid to such agricultural worker and the amount actually paid.

• (5) An officer of the Board may, in the name and on behalf of an agricultural worker, institute civil proceedings against the agricultural employer employing such agricultural worker for the recovery of sums due from such agricultural employer to such agricultural worker on account of the payment of wages to such agricultural worker at less than the minimum rate applicable, but nothing in this sub-section shall be in derogation of the right of such agricultural worker to recover such sum by civil proceedings.

• (6) Any agreement for the payment of wages in contravention of this section or for abstaining to exercise any right of enforcing the payment of wages in accordance with this section shall be void.

20 Powers of officers of the Board.

20.—(1) An officer of the Board may do all or any of the following things, that is to say:—

• (a) require, after giving reasonable notice, the production of, and inspect and take copies of wages sheets or other records of wages paid to agricultural workers;

• (b) enter at all reasonable times any premises or place for the purpose of such inspection or for the enforcement of this Act;

• (c) require any agricultural worker or the employer of any such worker or the agent of any such employer to give any information which it is in his power to give with respect to the employment of the worker or the wages paid to him.

• (2) If any person—

• (a) obstructs or impedes any officer of the Board in the exercise of any of the powers conferred on such officer by this section; or

• (b) refuses to produce any document or give any information which any such officer lawfully requires him to produce or give; or

• (c) produces or causes to be produced or knowingly allows to be produced any wages sheet, record or other document which is false in any material particular to any such officer knowing the same to be false; or

• (d) furnishes any information to any such officer knowing the same to be false,

such person shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to both such fine and imprisonment.

21 Annual reports.

21.—The Board shall make to the Minister as soon as may be after the expiration of each calender year a report of their proceedings under this Act, and the Minister shall lay a copy of every such report so made to him before Dáil Eireann.

22 Regulations.

22.—The Minister may by order make regulations in relation to any matter or thing which is expressed to be the subject of regulations under this Act.

23 Expenses.

23.—All expenses incurred in carrying this Act into execution shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

24 Short title and commencement.

24.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Agricultural Wages Act, 1936.

• (2) This Act shall come into operation on such day as may be fixed therefor by order of the Minister.