ARBITRATION ACT

Hokitika Guardian, 9 March 1932, Page 4

ARBITRATION ACT

MR W. F. ROWLEY'S VIEWS. | SUGGESTIONS FOR AMENDMENT. i [by Telegraph, Per Press Association.] WELLINGTON, March 9. Mr W. F. Rowley, who for forty years was connected with the Labour ' Department and far many years was its chief administrative officer, but who has now retired, has written an open letter to the Prime Minister on the subject of the Amendment to the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act before Parliament. He claims his long experience of the working of the Act entitles him to express an opinion. The Act, in his view, requires amending particularly in its interest to the farming and exporting community, but the present Bill is drafted on wrong lines, and will do more harm than good, and cause grave injustice to a large body of workers, who quietly and loyally supported this peaceful method of settling the con- : ditions of employment, j He contends that the real cbnflicC | which led up to th e present industrial condition has lain, not so much, between employers and employed, as between sheltered and unsheltered industries, and’ lie suggests as a remedy , that instead of a wage rate being fixed, | “according to the artificial cost of liv- , ing standard,” the;' should be based on the state of trade from time to time. That for this purpose the constitution of the Arbitration Court should be all tered bv the addition of a representI ative of the public whose special duty I it woqld be to bring the state of trade I before the Court. - He points out that . in the past, lay members of the Court have been representatives of sheltered industries, and those engaged in the great exporting industry, on which the prospertiy of the whole Dominion depends. had no voice in selecting these lepresentatives. Mr Rowley contends that what is called “compulsory conciliation and optional arbitration” must result in A reversion to the old barbarous system of strikes, and lockouts, and these weapons will lie the most readily seized bv those engaged in handling exports. IVe will thus witness a. return to the age of force, instead of reason. For immediate purposes to meet the existing depression, Air Rowley considers all that is required is a temporary measure giving power to reduce all award rat'-s on account of the fall in world prices and even, if necessary, to suspend nnv of the awards for a tain period.