PASTORAL WORKERS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2913, 27 October 1916, Page 7

PASTORAL WORKERS

IMPORTANT JUDGMENT ~~~~ \ INVALID CONSTITUTION OF UNIONS

Tho Arbitration Court's judgment in rcspcct of the application following upon an amalgamation of tho Wellington Shearers' Union mid the Wellington Farm and Stations Hands (other than shearers) and Creamery, Butter, and Cheese Factory- Employees' Union purporting to havo been mado under Sub-section 1 of Section 20 of tho Act, was delivered yesterday- The Court, reviewing tho points of, the ease, says': It was admitted .that the two unions last named had agreed by resolution to amalgamate £0 as to'form one union under tho namo of tho Wellington Agricultural and Pastoral Workors' Industrial .Union of Workers, and tho application was for an adjustment of tho Wellington. shearers mid shed hands' awards, and Lhe Hawkc's Bay shearers' agreemont by, joining "Tho Wellington Agricultural and Pastoral Workers! Union," in substitution for "Tho Wellington Shoarors'. Industrial Union .of' Workers," as a partyi to the said awards and agreement.

Dairy Employees' Objections. When tlio application camo before the Registrar lio considered (and: rightly, in the 'opinion of the Court) that creamery, butter, and cheese factories' employees were not connected with tho of shearing and farming work lyitliiii the meaning of Section 20, and therefore that tho proposed amalgamation could not bo given effect to. The manner of getting over the difficulty—striking out all referohco to oraamery, butter, and' chcoso factories'' employees and then issuing a cortiflcato under Suction 20 —was in the opinion of tho Court, irregular, and tho proposed amalgamation nugatory. Tho judgment, goes on to say: "If the iconßtitution of tho unions seeking amalgamation is such that no amalgamation can properly take placo, then, until tho constitutions of * tlio. unions are regularly amended so as to limit tho scope of tho unions to those "connccted with tho same; industry," no amalgamation is permissible." The. creamery, butter, and' cheese factories' employees - objected to the proposed method of overcoming the difficulty which presented itself, and tho judgment' points out that even if tho two unions seeking amalgamation had beon "connected with tho same industry, the amalgamation purporting to be made was wholly void, inasmuch as it purported to amalgamate, not the two unions .desiring to amalgamate, but ono of the union' 9 with only one portion of the other union, the remaining. portion of the. last-named union objectify to bo omitted from . such amalgamation. Such amalgamation as that proposed must property embrace the whole of such unions or it cannot bo effected. For these reasons," says the judgment, "it apoai's clear that in. tho present case, no lawful amalgamation of . .{ho unions concerned having been olfected, no such adjustment as' is contemplated by Sub-seotion 2 of Sort ion'2o can be made, and therefore that tlio application must bo refused."

Connected Industries. The judgment refers at longth to the meaning of the words "connected with the same industry" as used in section 20 of tho principal Act, and states that tlie Court agroes that the term— a somewhat olastio ono —is only another way of referring to "related, industries," as illustrated in section 24. Whon, therefore, a question arises as to whether two unions desiring amalgamation are "connected with tho same industry," the question should bo determined upon a consideration of whether tho workers in tlio unions aro engaged in different branches of the samo trade., or whether their work, although in .different trades, is so connected that tho conditions of their employment or other industrial matters, are' siffcoted' the 0110 trade' by . the other. _ Tho union, of shearers is connected with a producing industry; tho dairy factory workors aro connected with a. manufacturing industry, and that in itself is a brpad and clear distinction. It would bo impossible to suggest reasonably that the conditions of employment or other industrial matters rolating to ono of them might affeot the other.

Pastoral Workers' Union. . "As to tho constitution of tho New Zealand Agricultural and Pastoral Workers' Industrial Union •of Workers," proceeds the judgment, "this body came into existence in a somewhat remarkable way. There was, it appears, an association of workers under the registered title of tho New Zoaland Shearers' and Woolshed Employoos' Industrial Association of workors, under the constitution of which any registered union of shoarers and woolshed employees might belong to the association. .Tho rules of the • association also provided that any qualified or competent shearer or other person engaged in or about a shearing or woolshod, with certain exceptions, should upon payment of tho prescribed con? tribution and dues bo ontitled to become a member of the union, In our opinion, it is not competent for an association to prescribe tho qualification for momborship of a union. This should bo left-to tho union itself."

Proceeding, tlio judgmont says that it might be assumed that tho association was duly constituted under the Act. The association, some timo prior to December 10, 1015, mado an application to tho Registrar to approve of the alteration' of its namo to tho Now Zealand Agricultural and Pastoral Workers' Industrial Union of Workors, and tho Registrar, treating tho application as properly mado, approved tho proposal, amended the register accordingly, and on December 10, 1015, accepted nnd recordod a completely new set of rules embodying an entirely new constitution, "and thus usliored into tho industrial world Tho New Zealand Agricultural and Pastoral Workors' Industrial Association of. Workers."

Tho judgment goes on to refer tho provisions of tho now, constitution, and ljolds that tlfo powor assumed to dictato to unions the classes of workers they wore Bound to admit to membership, and tlio condition of such admission, was boyond tho. jurisdiction of an association under tho Aot. Theso wero matters entirely for tho unions, but apart from that tlio Court was of opinion that tho procedure adopted for the registration of tlio association was wholly irregular and unauthorised by tho Act. Industrial unions must be limited to workers in a. particular or related industry, and it followed as a logical conclusion that industrial associations of workers must bo limitod to unions of a similar oharaotcr. Tho Court theroforo hold that tho Now Zealand Agricultural and Pastoral Workers' Industrial Assocition of Workers is not legally constituted, and its registration is inoperative. "Not Legally Constituted." The judgment goes on to say that tho various agricultural and pastoral workers' unions aro not legally constituted, because thoy include as members workers in different i?idustrios not related to one another; their Tules are insensible except upon the assumption that tho New Zealand Agricultural and Pastoral Workers' Industrial Association is validly constituted, which is not the case; and tho unions havo assumed that they can be created by the association, whoreas an association^

must, .bo the creation and-not the creator of -unions.. Unions may crcate an association which in effect would bo a federation of'.unions. CONCLUSIONS SUMMED UP. Tie conclusions of the judgment summed up are as follow: — 1. Under Section 6 of the principal Act, an industrial union o£ workers must bq limited to workers engaged in a particular industry or in two or more related industries. 2. Under Section 20 of tho principal Act, only such industrial unions can properly amalgamate as are connected with, that is, related to, the same industry. 3. Uiidor Section US, an indiistrial association must bo confined to industrial unions of a particular industry, or of related industries. _ •1. Industrial associations can only bo created by properly constituted unions. _ _. 5. Alteration of the constitution of an industrial nnion cannot bo effected by a mero chaago of name under Section 2 of the Amendment 'Act of 1910. G. Tho New Zealand Agricultural and Pastoral Workers' -Industrial As- , sooiatiqn of Workers is not a legally constituted association. 7. Tho Wellington Agricultural and » Pastoral Workers' Industrial Union of Workers and unions in other districts similarly constituted aro not legally constituted unions. 8. Tho defects in tho constitution of tho above-mentioned association and unions oannot bo cured by registration under tho Act. | This judgment will dispose also of tho applications filed herein in tho industrial districts of Marlborough and I Canterbury. .