THE ARBITRATION SYSTEM

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2346, 31 December 1914, Page 7

THE ARBITRATION SYSTEM

!A CARTER'S COMPLAINT. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Auckland, December 30. When speaking at the welcome to tie Prime' Minister of Australia this inorri"?S.tjtJlo secretary of the Carters' and Drivers' Union (Mr G. Davie) said ha •had thought it might he possible to .discuss with Mr. Fisher the good and bad features of the conciliation and arbitration system. "The-'system in this ,wnmtry,'{ he-.added, "does not settle disputes, :it manufactures them. From the time an award is given there is one continual'wrangle."' The speaker was ■ proceeding, to refer in an uncomplimentary,.'manner to the way in which Judges framed awards, when he was checked by the visiting Prime Minister, '*r would, not say that," suggested Mr. Fisher; "for Judges in this country as well as in 'other •countries,'' rightly or wrongly, interpret the laws." Mr. Davis 'accepted the advice, and went on to say that the carters .here were- working 56 hours a week for from £2 Bs. to £2 12s. They found that awards were not framed on evidence given in the Arbitration Court. For instance, holidays had. been reduced from nine to eight, and the pcrcenta'go of boy labour had been modified when neither alteration had been asked for. They had gone to tho trouble of getting detailed reports of the proceedings, and the last case cost them something like £800. "That," remarked the ■ visiting Minister, "is a serious business." Mr. Davis added, "And in this Dominion, which is called 'God's Own Country,'we havo under arbitration carters working for 10} - an hour." ,