The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1922. ARBITRATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 February 1922, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1922. ARBITRATION.

So long as no better system of settling industrial disputes is brought into action the Arbitration Court must remain as the tribunal to deal with such disputes. It is, therefore, the duty of the Government to make this system as effective and satisfactory as possible, hence the amendment proposals contained in the Bill recently introduced in the House. The possibility of,either framing br amending proposals of this nature in such a way as would be entirely acceptable to employers and employed is most remote. The utmost that ean be expected is that the provisions relating to the constitution of the Court and its functions shall be brought up to date; that is to say the lessons resulting from experience shall be the chief guide in order -to overcome defects and improve the machinery for adjusting the wages and conditions of the workers, while preserving the basic interests of industry and securing fair living conditions not only for the workers, but also the public. In theory there are four parties directly interested in industrial awards—the workers, the employers, the public and the State, while in practice, ad demonstrated by past experience, it has been found 'that it is the workers who practically monopolise the attention of the Court, the employers being mostly on the defensive. The question of the constitution of the Court has been the subject of considerable discussion of late, mainly as regards the representative of the workers and the filling of any vacancy that 'may occur. In amending the Act advantage has been taken of the opportunity to effect an alteration the need for which has been only too apparent. Instead of importing assessors from outside districts and of different occupations to A that in which the parties to a depute before the Court are engaged, it is now proposed that assessors must be chosen from among the workers in the industry and district covered by the dispute—a course that is obviously proper and accords with common sense and justice. Moreover, this arrangement will strike a much-needed blow at the dominating tactics of the large unions in the past, the largest union being now restricted to three votes in the selection of the workers’ representative on the Court, and will place those unions which are working under awards in a more favorable position as regards representation on the Court. To meet the ease of an elected representative resigning or otherwise vacating his seat as an assessor, the Court, it is proposed, may of its own volition promote the acting nominated member, but in that event there -would still be need of a substitute, so that it would seem desirable that the unions should in the first instance select two or more representatives to take office if required in a prescribed order of sequence, so that the business of the Court would not be impeded when a vacancy arises from any cause. In the event of a deliberate attempt to hold up the work of the Court by the unions refusing to permit any representative to act, the Court might well agree to appoint an independent assessor in the workers’ interest. It is probable, however, that, under the system of having the assessors selected from the trades in the districts covered by a dispute, there will be no likelihood of this trouble arising. The proposal to exclude local bodies from the operation of the Act is somewhat of a surprise, but inasmuch as these bodies are practically a part of the government of the country there is some justification for the change. The retention of the existing provisions lor adjusting wages according to the cost of living is unavoidable under present circumstances, and will no doubt be satisfactory to the workers, as it will tend to stabilise wages on a system that is, in theory at least, based on equitable lines, inasmuch as the claim for a living wage has been generally conceded.'’ At the same time care should be taken to weigh all the factors which influence the cost of living, and particularly the. cost of- production. The evil of a fixed minimum wage is that it tends to penalise the less efficient and slower workers by the difficulty of securing employment. They are worth only what they earn from an employers’ point of view, and the

cost of production has now become such an acute factor in industry that it is bound to operate adversely in the cases referred to. It has to be remembered in exercising its discretionary power as regards cost of living bonuses, the Court has the duty of considering the general interests of industry as well as the claims of the workers. At best the Arbitration Court is a go between, concerned more with palliatives than remedies.