NEW GENERAL WAGE ORDER

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5326, 12 February 1947, Page 5

NEW GENERAL WAGE ORDER

-Press Assn.)

/ o government's decision CASE CAN BE PRESENTED ' TO ARBITRATION COURT

(By Telegraph-

WELLINGTON,. Last Night. The Minister of Labour, Mr. A. McLagan, announced to-night that, following representations from the National Executive of the Federation of Labour, to the effect that material disparities had arisen in the general wage structure because of the granting of sectional increases 1 agreed upon between employers and employees in- certain industries, the Government had made an exhaustive survey of awards and agreements which showed the position to be as stated by the F.O.L. executive. The ironing out of these disparities by nieans of individual- applieations from .the many unions concerned would be a long, drawn-out proced-ure and undesirable in several ways. The National Executive of the F.O.L. had asked that the method adopted in 1945 for the collection of anomalies existin°v at" this time should be followed again on this oecasion, and the Government had agreed to take the necessary steps to enable the F.O.L. to present its case to the Court of Arbitration asking for a new general wage order. As the regulations Gazetted in 1945 Ycferred only to awards and agreements then in force, it was not possible for the application to be maje under the regulation and a new reg-u-lation on the lines of that in 1945 would be Gazetted. The Employers' Federation would have, as in 1945, an opportunity to. plaee its views before the Court of Arbitration and ihe Court would, as usual, fix the date of the hearing so as to allow the' two federations plenty of time to prepare their case. ■ » in i iwi.