THE ARBITRATION COURT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 31 August 1907, Page 2

THE ARBITRATION COURT.

THE AMENDED BIIX. Wellington, Friday. I. The amendment of the Conciliation • and Arbitration Act circulated to-day is a lengthy measure of lifty-six clauses. Among its provisions are these:— I After the passing of the Act no industrial dispute shall be referred to any I Hoard of Conciliation, nor to the Court iu the first instance, but to an Industrial Council. Any party to the dispute may make application for the establishment of a Council for the settlement of the dispute. T'ue Council is to consist of seven members, three engaged in the , industry and to be appointed by the 1 Governor ou the recommendation of the Union, three who have been employers in the same industry, their names to be submitted to the Governor by the Employers' Association, and a president elected by the members. The Council has power to make an award in the dispute, and is then ipso facto dissolved, A bare majority of the Council can carry ail award which will have all the effect of an award made by the present Arbitration Court. Either side may appeal 1 to the Court against the Council's award, 1 cither on law or facts, and the Court 3 may make new awards, which shall bf

binding. - <r . There is an important departure" in the method of enforcement of any infraction. Any. party to an award may make application to the local magistrate for. enforcement, and the magistrate may impose a fine not exceeding £IOO in the case of an industrial union, industrial association, or employer, and £lO in the case of a worker.

Appeal to the Arbitration Court is allowed, the latter's decision to be final. ■ .

Payment of any fine is to be enforceable as the judgment of the ordinary civfl courts. Individual members of a union or association are liable for fines up u> £lO each. Employers on receipt of an order from the Inspector of Awards shall deduct 25 per cent of the wages of their employees who have been lined until the amount owing to the Court is cleared. These provisions regarding enforcements or fines apply in the case of strikes or lock-outs. The definition of a worker is extended so that it now reads: "Worker means any person of any age or eilfier sex employed By any employer for hire or reward in any industry." An important new provision will have

the effect of forcing non-unionists who have benefited by an award to contribute to the funds of -the union which brought the case before the Court on the same basis as ordinary unionists, this money being recoverable in the same manner as ffie contributions of members, 'This will obviate the necessity 'Ol the inclusion of a preference to, 1 unionists clause in awards in the future.

No trade union, is to be registered under the Trade Union Act, 1878. No person shall be qualified to be a union officer uulms he has been or is engaged in the industry in connection with which the union is established. A breach of this provision is punishable by a fine not.exceeding £lO.

DEPUTATION 'FROM EMPLOYERS' FEDERATION.

INTERVIEW WITH MINISTER OF LABOR. Per Press Association. Wellington, Last night. Members of the Employers' Federation waited upon the Minister of Labor today, and placed before him .the resolutions passed at the Conference referring to the new Arbitration Bill Mr Hobbs said the point they wanted to discuss was the proposed amendment to the Act. The association in the past had done its best to uplibld the existing Act, Full consideration had been given to the new Dill, and he could say the Association was very disappointed with it. The association did not think the appointment of an industrial council would effect the object aimed at. The association's views were embodied in the following resolutions:— "This Federation, after giving full consideration'■ to the proposed amendment, is strongly opposed to the inclusion of either Conciliation Boards or Industrial Councils. "It is of opinion that arbitration courts should' tfe the sole courts to deal both with disputes and enforcements arising out of the Arbitration Act. > "It is further of opinion that in order to provide for the settlement of disputes within a reasonable time, • a court should be provided for each island, and that where disputes in-, volve trades, the products of which enter into competition 'throughout the colony, the two courts shall sit together and decide whether a colonial award should not be made." ■ Other matters were discussed at length by the deputation. , The Minister, in reply, said one objection to boards in -the past had been that men wero found dealing with matters which they knewnothing about.' To put au end to all this, he thought that the true form of conciliation would be to form industrial councils of the kind provided in the Bill. Though the asso-, ciation did not think they would be satisfactorily, it was a strange thing that a board of the same description was only one that had formed a satisfactory settlement of a dispute -.at Auckland, where the Mayor acted He would like to see his scheme given a trial. -It would, he thought, be productive of more beneficial results than the employers were at present inclined to think. The Minister"replied in detail to the other points raised. Referring to the new Factories Act, the Minister said where six women and boys were employed all day in a vitiated atmosphere, it was necessary to have a separate place for meals. If this number was too small, he would inquire whether it was necessary to extend it. Referring to the clause dealing with holidays, Mr Millar said what the deputation asked was that the whole colony, except the four centres, should be exempt from the. Saturday half-holiday for a factory, which was purely a factory, and not a shop. He was not going to alter the law in this respect He wxs willing where a shop and factory were combined to add one or two thousand t« the proposed quota of population, so long as they did not ruke this principle general in its application.