ARBITRATION WORK

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 773, 20 September 1929, Page 9

ARBITRATION WORK

94 PER CENT. OF DISPUTES SETTLED YEAR’S RESULTS IN N.Z. (THE SUN'S Parliamentary Reporter) PARLIAMENT BLDGS., Today. Under industrial conciliation and arbitration 94 per cent, of the disputes dealt with by conciliation councils were settled. With regard to trades in general the payment of wages has shown a tendency to fall toward award rates. That information is contained in the annual report of the Labour Department presented to Parliament yesterday. During the year 1928-29. 25 agreements were filed, the recommendations of Conciliation Councils totalled 60 and Arbitration Court awards 56. Awards and industrial agreements actually in force on March 31, 1929, totalled 471 (last year 472). The reason for this reduction is merely that in one instance one award has taken the place of. two previous separate awards in the same industry, says the report. The work performed by commissioners and councils of conciliation is as follows:—lndustrial agreements arrived at and filed as such under section 28 by the parties through the commissioner alone, 15; disputes dealt with by the Conciliation Councils where industrial agreements were filed under section 2S, 3; where recommendations were fully accepted and filed as such, 0; where recommendations were fully accepted and forwarded to the court to be made into awards, 34; where recommendations were substantially accepted or agreements reached and referred to the court to make awards, 26; where a minor recommendation only or no recommendation was made, 5. Total, S 3. The above figures indicate that 94 per cent, of the disputes dealt with by the commissioners and Conciliation Councils were settled or substantially settled by them, though it should be noted that in some cases the settle-

ments reached merely followed upon recently-made awards of the court or settlements through commissioners or councils in the same or similar industries elsewhere. Five disputes in which only minor recommendations or no recommendations were made were confined to freezing and engineering and other metal industries, while 78 disputes which were settled or substantially settled covered 45 industries. In the following trades the award rates for adult workers (other than foremen and leading hands) have generally been exceeded in the four chief centres to the extent shown (alterations since last year are as indicated): Bakers and pastrycooks, award rate, £5 a week, rates generally paid, £ 5 to £5 10s a week; bootmakers, 2s Old an hour, which is now the award rate (last year 2s lid an hour); carpenters and joiners, award rate, 2s 3d and 2s 3!d an hour, actual pay 2s 3d to 2s 6d (last year. 2s 4d to 2s 6d); bricklayers. award. 2s 34d to 2s 4d, pay 2s 6d to 2s 9d (last year 2s 9d); plasterers, award 2s 3'd to 2s 4*d, pay 2s 6d to 2s 9d; plumbers, award 2s 3d, pay 2s 6d; furniture trades, - award 2s 3d. pav 2s 6d (last year.2s4id) ; waterside workers, award. 2s 2id, pay 2s 4d; stonemasons. award, 2s 3!d to 2s 4id. pay 2s 6d to 2s 9d: electrical workers, award, 2s 2d and 2s 3d, pay 2s 3d to 2s 6d. While for a number of years the rates generally paid have frequently exceeded the award rates, the wages now being paid tend to fall toward the award rate*.