Arbitration Court

Hokitika Guardian, 16 January 1922, Page 1

Arbitration Court

[BY telegraph—per press association

act TO BE AMENDED

WELLINGTON, January 14

A further amendment to the Arbitration Act is to be made shortly to meet the situation created by the amendment introduced earlier in the session. So the Minister of Labour, the. Hon. G. J. Anderson, informed a deputation from the executive of the Protestant Political Association. The liev. Howard Elliott said it had come as a result of an attempt by the Alliance of Labour and some extremists to put the Arbitration Court out of action by refusing tt> appoint a representative m place of Mr J. A. McCullough. At the present time the Act provided that unions voted on the basis of one vote for fifty members. This gave big unions an unfair advantage over small unions, and the I deputation proposed that voting in future should be on the basis of one vote per union. The Minister replied that an amendment of the Act was already in nr if He made it clear that the representations of the deputation had not influenced him in this. As a matter of fact the amendment was not exactly what they asked. The Government had no intention of abolishing the Court. He had hopes that the Arbitration Court would have been brought up-to-date this year, but owing to various causes that was not possible. However it waa necessary to pass some legislation.