“ALLIANCE OF LABOUR” AND ARBITRATION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3018, 1 April 1926, Page 1

“ALLIANCE OF LABOUR” AND ARBITRATION.

ITS ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE COURT.

“Is the Alliance of Labour opposed to Arbitration?” Thqt is the question which has been put to us by members of the general public. Instead of expressing our own opinion, we submit a report which was published as the Official Report of the Alliance on this subject, and adopted at its last Conference, held in Wellington. ARBITRATION COURT. 1. Your committee is of the opinion that the basic wage will not be increased by the Court of Arbitration as it is at present constituted and controlled. The court has, during the past few years, persisted in lowering the standard of living of «U workers who have submitted claims for an increase in wages. We therefore recommend that Unions which are in an economic position to do so should cancel their registration under the I.C. and A. Act and take the necessary steps to obtain and maintain the basic wage laid down by conference.

Unions cancelling their registration in accordance, with the foregoing provisions shall receive the whole-hearted supoprt, financially and otherwise, of the Alliance of Labour and its component affiliations, whether registered under the Act or not.

2. Your Committee has gone fully into the question of the basic wage, and has investigated present-day prices of commodities, including house rentals, and, after having carefully considered all matters involved in this question, we have arrived at the conclusion that a basic wage of £6 per week is necessary to enable a worker and his dependants to live with any degree of decency and comfort.

3. Your committee further recommends that the law be amended so that the strike and lock-out clauses of I.C.‘ and A. Act be repealed and that an award of the court shall be submitted to a plebiscite vote of the workers involved for its acceptance or otherwise, and only in cases where a majority of the workers voting are in favour of accepting the award shall it become law. IMPORTANT QUESTIONS. Whether the Unions registered under the Act were consulted either before or since the above was adopted, on the policy it contains, and what is their attitude towards it, are important questions, which, we submit, should be publicly answered. The attitude of the Unions towards industrial Arbitration concerns the public and members of it should be informed as to whether or not they endorse the above policy of the Alliance.

The workers’ representative on the court is the selection of the Alliance of Labour. Does he support the policy relating to Arbitration which has been affirmed by the Alliance? Is Mr. Monteith likely to advocate that an Award of the Court (of which he is a member), shall, first, of all, be submitted to a vote of the workers concerned and only when a majority are in favour of it will it become law? This, surely, would be making a farce of the Arbitration system and we cannot think that even the Unions attached tot he Alliance of Labour can seriously advocate such a policy as is contained in the Alliance Report. (Contributed by the New Zealand Welfare League).