MUNICIPAL UNION

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 220, 17 August 1937, Page 9

MUNICIPAL UNION

REQUEST FOR AWARD. MATTER HELD OVER. Application was made to the Arbitration Court, yesterday, by Mr P. M. Butler on belialf of the Wellington District Municipal Workers’ Union for an award and, after argument had been heard, the matter was held over for the consideration of written submissions.

His Honour Mr Justice O’Regan presided, and there were associated with him Messrs W. Cecil Prime (employers’ assessor) and A.‘L. Monteith (employees’ assessor). Early reference was made by the Court to the rules of the union, with particular reference to the classes of workers to which the union applied. Mr Butler explained that the application was not an “umbrella” one, blanketing a large number of workers in general terms, but applied specifically to the workers engaged in various duties. His Honour thought it obvious that the union came within the four corners of the case which had recently been decided in the Court of Appeal. The Court in this case was inclined to hold that to put the award in order it would have to specify municipal workers only.

Mr Butler said that in the case which had come before the Court of Appeal the registration had been challenged. There had been no challenge laid hi this case. If what the Court had indicated was so then there would be .

His Honour: We will have amending legislation passed by Parliament. Continuing, His Honour said that the Court was taking the initiative in this case on the ground that it had no jurisdiction to make an award covering many classes of workers in the one agreement. Mr 11. J. Reardon, for the Hawke’s Bay Builders and General Labourers’ Union, intimated that he would be raising an objection, and he and Mr Butler were advised to put their submissions in writing and forward them to the Court, which would be sitting in Auckland for some weeks, and the matter would be dealt with there.