LEGAL HOLD-UP

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 204, 14 September 1937, Page 13

LEGAL HOLD-UP

-Press Assooiation. S

Resubmission Of Cases To Conciliation COURT'S WAGE DECLARATION

(By Telegraph-

AUCKLAND, Last Night, The resubmission of a large numbei of Auckland industrial disputes to Conciliation Councils following the Arbitration Court 's pronouneement on standard rates of wages is temporarily held up by a legal technicality, whieh the trade unious conccrned are endeavouring to remove. At the present time about 50 Auckland disputes stand referred to the Court, and although there is a reasonable prospect of settling some 20 of them now that the Court 's views on wages are known, it has been discovered that the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Aet makes no provision for the state of affairs that has arisen. The Act has never contemplated that once a Conciliation Couneil has made its formal Tecommenaation to the Court there will be any occasion to refer the dispute back for further negotiations between the partios. It is possible that this procedure is not barred by the Act, but there is no authority for it or for paying the usual fees to assessors at resumed sittings. A meeting of t'he agents concerned in a number of the disputes was held today and they considered a report from the secretary of the Auckland District Couneil of tho Federation of Labour, ' Mr. H. Campbell, regarding disputes on tho tentative list of fixtures drawn up •by the Conciliation Commissioner, Mr. R. E. Price. Mr. Campbell stated that the Commissioner had listed only those disputes in which the principal outstanding question was wages and in which there was now a reasonable prospect of complete settlement. The agents present agreed that an endeavour should be made to Tesume conciliation in these cases. It. was further decided to communicate with the aeting-Minister of Labour, Hon. P. G. Wobb, and to ask that authority be given to re-convene the Conciliation Councils with the payment of assessors' fees. In ordor to avoid delay in dealing with the accumulation of disputes,, it was resolved to ask the Minister to appoint. adclitional .Conciliation Commis-J sionera, _ 3 __ ^ "/