FORMING UNIONS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1279, 7 November 1911, Page 3

FORMING UNIONS.

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE REPRESENTATIONS. NO SATISFACTORY REPLY. The council of the "Wellington.Clianiln»r of Commerce has not yet received any reply which it con.-ider* 5-atisfaclory to its representation:, in rcsard to certain amendments desired in tho Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act. When tho local Merchants' AsfisUtnls' I'liion w ~ 3 process of formation Iho council affirmed the following resolution, which had been supported also by most of the other Chambers of Commerce in the Dominion :— ■ "That it is desirable that the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, be amended this session to provide: "(ii For notice to bo given by sufficient advertisement or personally to employers or employees in any industry in connection with which any application is made for registration of any industrial association or union. ."(-i That an opportunitv should 1)0 givja lor employers or employees in any such industry t<~. oppose the registration of such proposed industrial association or union. That there should be a right of appeal from the decision of tho Registrar upon such matters to tho Arbitration Court. ' 'If this the Minister for Labour (tho lion. J. A. Millar) replied on October i", stating that the resolution did not give any grounds upon which emplovers or eir ployees concerned, who objected to the registration of a union, should be entitled to oppose tho registration. Ho addid: "It it is the desire of the Chamber that employers and employees should bo afforded an opportunity of stating their ol jcction to tlie claims when ail industrial dispute is filed for hearing, I would say that I believe such persons can do so. In rcspect to this question 1 am advised by tho Solicitor-General that although_ individual emidovees have no legal claim to appear before the Court healing tho dispute, nevertheless he does not tnink that as a matter of practice the Court would refuse to allow such pers?ns k? appear. The Solicitor-General also advises that another courso would bo for the employees to preseut their case to the Court through the employers who are parties to the proceedings." On Octobsr 27 the secretary to the council wrote, by direction of its executive as follows I am directed by my council to say that in suggesting the amendment to the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act m the terms of the resolution forwarded, they have the support of the principal chambers of commerco in the Dominion, fifteen in all. .'What the chambers of commerce suggest is that the Act should be amended so as to give the opportunity to employers or employees to oppose registration on bona fide and sufficient ground of objection being shown. It may bo that application for registration is made of a union, which is is undesirable be registered. A recent example of this was the registration of tho Merchants' Assistants' Union, which embraced not only a variety of trades, but different classes of employees within those trades, and here it was apparent that there could l:a no community of interest when tho union included so many different classes of workers. "Regarding the last paragraph of your letter, I am instructed to say that my chamber _ would urge that " employees should of legal right have the opportunity of stating their objections to the claims made when an industrial dispute is filed, and should not be put in the anomalous position of stating their objections only by courtesy ot the Court or the Conciliation Commissioner, as the case may be. My council think it quite impracticable for employers to present their employees' objections, as collusion would at once be suspected." Tho council of the Chamber of ■ Commerce yesterday approved the letter forwarded to the Minister by their executive. A reply from tho Minister is now awaited.