ARBITRATION COURT

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 173, 15 March 1932, Page 6

ARBITRATION COURT

proposed abolition DEADLOCKS FREQUENT AND WORK INDEFINITELY HELD UP. MR. A. COOK'S VIEWS. In conversation with a reporter, Mr. A. Cook, general secretary of the New Zealand Workers' Union, commented on the proposed legislation limiting the Arbitration Court's powers. "I must admit," said Mr. Cook, "that compulsory conciliation and voluntary arbitration, which system it appears the Government are likely to introduce will react to the detriment of employers, particularly farmers. This will be the position: — When a dispute arises, a meeting of the parties concerned will take place before the Conciliation Commissioner, at which it is certain no agreement will be reached unless the workers' representatives are prepared to forego certain beneficial clauses which have been enjoyed in the past. Consequently a dealoek ensues, and with no access to a tribunal to decide the points in dispute, both parties leave the Conciliation Council determined to fight the iSsue on the job. In other words, direct action is forced up on the workers, the result of which can quite easily be foreseen. Deadlocks will be frequent, and work held up indefinitely. 'Foremost among'st the emulovers

who are to-day bringing pressure to bear upop the Government for restricted Arbitration Court legislation are the farmers. These men do not realise the boomerang effect their advocacy is likely to have. As an illustration let us take the shearing industry. This is what will happen. At the offset a Conciliation Council meeting will take place, at which it is almost certain no agreement will be made. The next step for the union (and the only one possible to take) would be to publish its demands, and circulate them amongst all shearing industry workers, calling upon the workers to take action to establish the demands in their respective sheds before commencing work. Such action will cause the greatest possible inconvenience to all those employers who refuse to concede the men's claims, . Which claims will undoubtedly earry . with them a proposal to drastically limit all tallies. "The New Zealand workers are not going to accept worse conditions without a fight. Personally I don't care : what they do with the Arbitration Court. I have always maintained that ■ its operations have kept the workers ; subdued, but. if it goes, certain benel fits will be lost to the workers in some , industries, but only for a short time. i The removal of the Court will evens tually strengthen the industr'al - unions, which will become militant : bodies which will regain any losses ' temporarily suffered, and inside of three years, those employers who are - to-day crying 'away with the Arbi- - tration Court' will be found calling ' even more loudly for its return."