EMPLOYERS' ASSOCIATION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1026, 16 January 1911, Page 4

EMPLOYERS' ASSOCIATION.

« MINISTERIAL PROPOSALS CRITICISED. The half-yearly report of. the » Canterbury Employers' Association states that a Bill to amend the Conciliation and Arbitration Act was introduced, but was ultimately held over until next session, probably in conscquence of the exceptionally drastic alterations in the law "wheh tho Bill proposed,to make. The Bill proposed that when a recommendation of a Conciliation Council was filed any notice of disagreement with it, and the reasons for same must be signified within one month. Failing any such-notice tho recommendation operates as an industrial agreement seven days after notice has been given by the Clerk of Awards. The effect of would be to make the procedure similar to that which existed under the old Conciliation Boards, with this difference: that formerly either party had the right to appeal to the Court of Arbitration against any recommendation, and the case was dealt with de novo by tho Court. The reasons for appeal were not required. Under the new - proposal tho Court could disregard the reasons given for appeal, if, in its opinion, these were considered insufficient, and the recommendation would, therefore, become law. If an employer received notice from a secretary of tho uuion that he was employing a non-unionist, and there was at the. time a unionist equally capable of doing /the work, the employer must dischargo the non-unionist fourteen days after the receipt of tho notice from the secretary. It would be seen that a very important principle was sought to be introduced. Hitherto the Court had discretionary power in regard to the granting of preference, and exercised its power in various ways. Under the proposal a union employing a small minority of workers in a particular industry would be able to claim legal rights independently of any decision which the Court in equity might give. Where a contract was entered into fok labour only, the person performing the work, whether a contractor or not, was deemed to be a worker, and his principal was deemed to be an employer. That proposed clause involved probably the most serious menace to the rights of the individual which had ever b:en proposed in this, or any other, country, and every employer should endeavour to thoroughly understand its far-reaching effects. Regarding enforcement cases, it v;as proposed that those should be taken out of the hands of tho magistrates and dealt with by tho Arbitration Court only. A number of the proposals in the Bill, such as the first three given, would require tho serious consideration of employers should they be included in next year's measure.