The Arbitration Court.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19138, 22 October 1927, Page 14

The Arbitration Court.

The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Bill, for which so many people have been ratheranxiously waiting, turns out to be a rather harmless measure with one or two distinctly interesting features. To begin with, the alteration in tie constitution of the Court, though marked, will probably not be found in practice to have made much change in the Court's authority or capacity. Under the present system we have the somewhat anomalous position that laymen without special training are sitting'in judg- | ment in disputes involving more special knowledge than, even as laymen, they can possibly have, and the new system will get over that difficulty by providing a _ differently constituted Court for each dispute. But on the other hand each member of the Court as it is now constituted has had a great deal of experience in the investigation of disputes, has learnt to know how much and how little weight to give to certain types of evidence, and where and how to get evidence. The new Court will know a great deal more about the special dispute under investigation, but it will not know nearly so much about disputes in general, and it is not quite certain therefore that it will arrive at sounder conclusions. With regard to the exemption of the farming industry it can be said at once, and emphatically, that this is wise and just. As the farmer has next to no protection at home and-" none abroad, he should be freed, as far as it is possible to free him, from the

standards and restrictions fixed for sheltered industries. It will still be the case that .he is affected indirectly by the awards of the Court, but he should at least be freed from their direct influence. Then there is the provision that where a dispute or strike has begun, or seems likely, the Minister may summon the parties to meet him and fine them heavily if they refuse —a ■ provision that sounds drastic but is quite reasonable and necessary if we are to retain compulsory wage-fixing. But it is worth pointing out that the compulsory attendance of disputants is already provided for in the Labour Disputes Investigation Act, though only for those industries that are not at present governed by the Arbitration Act. Although the Minister was careful to point out that he would never be a party to the abolition of the Court, there would be very little danger in abolishing the Court if the Labour Disputes Investigation Act were made universally applicable.