TIMBER WORKERS' AWARD.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1785, 25 June 1913, Page 8

TIMBER WORKERS' AWARD.

LETTER TO THE PREMIER. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Chrlstchurch, Juno 24. Mr. E, Hunter, secretary of tho (Jan< terbury Timber ITards, Sawmills, and Coal "Sard Employees' Union, has addressed the following letter to the Prima Minister, as Minister for Labour:— "I have, by direction of tho union, to bring under your notice certain remarks made by Mr. J ustico Sim in relation to a recommendation of tho Council of Conciliation. in a dispute between the union and the employers, filed in October, 1912, and which became., the award automatically. Under the amended Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act of. 1911, Clause 2 of Section 7 of which pro-< vides that if within one month no notico of disagreement has been filed the clerk shall, as soon as possible thereafter, giva notico in tho prescribed form to tho par* 1 ties of tho fact, and the recommendation? shall as from seven days after the da to of that notice, operate and be enforceable in tho same manner as an award duly executed and tiled by the parties}, and tho clerk shall endorso tho recom-. meudation accordingly. The of the statute have been observed in every, detail, and the recommendation became an award on November 26, 1912, and operative as such from seven days after tlia above date. Later, a difference of opiu-. ion arose between the union and the employers as to the interpretation of eer» tain clauses in the award, and application was made to the Arbitration Court, to answer two questions. As an inter-, pretation of the award tho Court gavo , its answer last week in Christchurch as follows:—The recommendation is not binding on the parties in any . way, and it is useless, therefore, for the Court to bo asked to interpret its provisions. If this ruling is correct, a very serious position has arisen, because this union is not tho only ono affected. Considerable advantage lias been taken of tho Council of" Conciliation method" of .settling disputes,; and now, it seems, all this work hus lieoit in vain, and because certain words have, been used in drafting tho various clause? of tho Act by the Crown Law Draughts;) man, of which Mr. Justice Sim disapi proves. Although tho intentions of tWU clauses are very plain, it seems that ' thousands of workers are to be penalised.' Kindly advise tho'Union as to tho posirf lion."