CONCILIATION COUNCIL.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 May 1918, Page 2

CONCILIATION COUNCIL.

FURNITURE TRADES DISPUTE. A sitting of the Conciliation Council, under tfts presidency of the Cotnniissinner (Mr. T. Farfo Giles), was held-.on Wednesday at the Soldiers' Club. The assessors for the employers were: — Messrs C. E. Baker, J. W.'Faydeu, and T. Pettv (New Plymouth), and for tha union, Messrs D- R- Kennedy (Wellington), H. E. Swindells (Wellington), and O. Richardson (New Plymouth). The work of the council was of a purely formal character, the terms and conditions of the recommendation of the council being in accord wrKh recent awards in other centres. AlO per cent, war bonus is added to the previous award. The award is to come- into operation as from June 1. and continue m force to January 31, 1920. Messrs Leighton and Son, eaibinetmakers. Devon street, New Plymouth, and S. Fodges, of Waitara, were addfld as parties to the dispute. At the close of the sitting, Mf. C. E. Baker, president of the New Plymouth Employers' Association, drew attention to what he characterised aa needless ex penso in bringing assessors together, some from a long distance, to settle n dispnta which practically did not exist, as representatives from all the centres ha<! met in conference in Wellington some time back and mutually agreed to terms and conditions for the' whole Dominion. Mr. Baker was of opinior that it was high time the Oovernment devised some means whereby awards could be made covering the whole of the i centres of the Dominion without re- | muring sittings of the Conciliation Council to be held in the various districts- He did not desire to 'blame the union representatives, as the condition of affairs was in no way due to them. Tho Commissioner pointed out that unless the wholu of the employers and unions in a particular trade or industry were federated the machinery of the Act made it necessary for each dispute to lio heard before a Conciliation Council in the district in which, it had occurred.

Both, nartios to the dispute agreed to nnproacli the Arbitration Court with a view to an award being msde by the Court without the necessity of watting for a sitting of the Court in New Plymouth.

On tfie motion of Mr- 0. ?,. Baker, seconded by Mr. D. R. Kranwlv. the Commissioner was accorded a hearty veto of thanks for his eonduct t>i the proer-odins?. A further sitting l of the council will he held to-day nt'ths Soldiers' Olufo at !0.15 a.m., to hear a dispute in connection with the demands of the Restaurant Employees' Union.