THE ARBITRATION ACT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 6 September 1907, Page 2

THE ARBITRATION ACT.

LABOR'S OBJECTIONS TO NEW PROPOSALS. Per Press Association. Dunedin, Thursday. The Executive of the Trades and La bor Council of Otago Ims issued a maiii festo to the Trades Unionists of Otagt and the sympathisers of labor in connection with the proposed amendments tc the Arbitration Act. The executiv( opens by entering a most emphatic pro test against the action of the Ministci in introducing legislation which haf never _ been asked for by tlis Trade.' Councils of the colony, nor by any othei j organisation of workers "or employers and which, if given effect to, will, 'it is held, not only kill many unions at lire sent struggling for existence, but to I great ext -i>t prevent unions being form ed. The clauses to which particular excen tion is taken are:—(l) The provisioi that all funds of a union, other thai those required for general management shall be spent in providing out-of-wor ! payment and sick benefits; (2) th : clause prohibiting anyone being an ofli leer or member of a committee of mav agemcnt of a union unless lie has bee or is employed in the industry in con neetion with which the union is ostal lished; (3) that provision that the C!oui may empower any union to collect pay luents from non-members at work i tha same industry and district, as : such individuals were members of th union; (4) the clause empowering en ployers to deduct from the wages o any worker in their employ amount totalling the amount imposed by wa 1 of a fine under the Act. In regard to the, first objection, th 1 executive points out that the Miniate 1 promised to inchide a clause in the Bi ; to prevent unions building up a fuut which might afterwards be used fc | fighting the capitalistic element. Th ' executive holds that it is arbitrary t introduce such compulsion, and the pre posal should not be tolerated, [ No. 2is the most arbitrary clause i ! the Bill. It is held that by Severn J unions having the same person as thei secretary, and thus having him at thei ! disposal at all times, many grievance ! have been settled. It is also claimc that the clause will interfere to a grea | extent with unions composed of female only. ' In respect to No. 3 the exeeutiv points out that the Council asked fo J preference to unionists, not eompulsor; unionism. Clause 4 is considered to be anothe ' means of crushing the workers, and om that should be resisted for that reason ■ It is pointed out that' no provision i. * made for the recovery of lines impose* on employers, a Tl'e proposal for the abolition of Con " ciliation Boards and the substitutioi of Industrial Councils is not considera a step in the right direction. To com " pel all unions to select men in the parti „ cular trade to which the dispute relatei J will inflict a great hardship on th< great majority of unions. : INTERVIEW WITH THE MINISTER | Pef Press Association. ~ Wellington, Thursday. ' A deputation representing the Trades Council's. Conference had a lengthy in ■ terview to-day with the Minister foi , Labor with reference to the Arbitration r. Bill.

The chairman expressed the opinion that if the proposed amendments were carried the Act would be no good to God or man. He then explained in detail the unions' objections, which were set out in the recent manifesto. The Hon. Jlr Millar in his reply said it possibly would have been better if they had come to him before they issued the manifesto. However, he was only too pleased to have the opportunity of giving the fullest publicity to the Bill so that the workers of the colony might thoroughly understand it. He would show that some of the things which were condemned in the manifesto had been" done at the instigation of officers of the union. No one would deny that from one end of the colony to the other, demand had Ijaen uuklg. Liuit, eomotluug should bo done to simplify procedure and do away with delays. He was endeavoring to prevent those delays and promote further conciliation. He said he had tried to avoid the evils of the wages boards' Bystem in Victoria, and the proposal had been referred to leaders of labor outside trades' councils, and they approved of it. Under a system of industrial councils the Minister believed they would have proper conciliation. If the system was not to be conciliatory then the sooner conciliation boards were wiped out the better. The Government could not see its way to maintain boards as at present constituted. He did not stick to every principle of the Bill, but thought its main principles were good and that it should be given a fair trial. He did not want it to go forth that he had imposed greater responsibilities on workers. Nine-tenths of what was in the Bill was either existing law or had been asked for by the unions of the colony. ENFORCEMENT OF AWARDS. ENGLISH. PRESS COMMENT. London, September i. Commenting on the .judgment of the New Zealand Appeal Court that those who refused to pay fines for striking might be imprisoned, the Pall Mall Gazette says the Labor Party of New Zeaaiul thought compulsory " arbitration would sound very well, but it was not prepared for its logical consequences. The Manchester Guardian declares that the New Zealand' Court, of Appeal's decision in the slaughtermen's strike case is basud on sound logic and equally sound law.

This paper adds:—"Regarding ithe statement that in a general strike or lock-out defiance of -the law would he possible, such flights of fancy might be applied to almost any law; but there is practically no evidence that such a state of mind exists among the workmen or employers of New Zealand."