CONCILIATION BOARD.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9027, 14 January 1908, Page 5

CONCILIATION BOARD.

THE SHEARERS' DISPUTE. A sitting of the Conciliation Board was held in Masterton, yesterday, to consider the shearers' dispute. The Board comprised Messrs P. J. o'Regan (chairman), Bedford and A. Collins (employees' representatives) and A. H. Cooper and H. Inniss (employers' representatives). Mr J. C. Cooper appeared on behalf of the Farmers' Union, and a number of farmers not members of the Union who had been cited in the claim, and Mr E. W. Abbott represented the Shearers' Union. Mr W. Barton, sheep-farmer, was also present. Mr Cooper stated that there had been no change in the position of the dispute since the Board met in Wellington. The Fanners' Union did not intend to call evidence. Mr Barton said he did not belong to the Farmers' Union, and he thought it would be a good thing for the Board to take his evidence. From practical experience he thought he was in a good position to put clearly before the Board some aspects of the shearers' claims which had not been arranged as well as they might have been. He did not, however, wish to stand against employers generally irr the dispute, and thought it would be belter to adopt the same attitude as,the Farmers' Union. Replying to Mr Barton, the chairman said the legal position now was that the employers had to wait until the Board's decision had been given before the case could be taken before the Arbitration Court. If the employers had wished to take the case straight to the Arbitration Court they would have had to obtain the consent and signatures of every employer cited, which was a physical impossibility. The Board wished to make equitable recommendations and the employers could not now ignore this jurisdiction since it had power to compel witnesses to attend its sittings by subpoena. This power would have been exercised in connection with the present sitting, but for the fact that the Clerk of Awards was absent from Wellington. The position now was that another sitting would have to be held in Masterton when witnesses would be subpoenaed. By confirming with the ordinary procedure, the employers would be seiving their best interests. Mr Cooper said the employers did not wish that the case should go before the Arbitration Court if it could be avoided. The desire of the Farmers' Union and employers generally was to settle the dispute with the shearei'S themselves, and it was confidently expected that by this means the dispute would very soon be sectled. If the latter had to go before the Conciliation Board, the farmers desired a board of experts, such as was proposed recently under the Bill before Parliament. He added that a meeting of farmers was shortly to be held when representatives of the shearers would be asked to attend, and a settlement would no doubt be arrived at. He hoped the Board would recognise that this was an attempt to settle the matter amicably without the intervention of the Court. In answer to the Chairman, Mr Cooper stated that the conference between the employers and employees would be held in about a fortnight if the latter wore ready. Mr Abbott here intimated that he intended to call evidence for the shearers. After a short conference with the members of the Board the Chairman announced that no evidence would be taken, as? it had been decided that it would be prejudicial to the interests of both parties if evidence were taken on one side only, when a friendly conference was proposed. In Palmerston North and YVanganui, where witnesses had been summoned, the evidence would be taken in camera. The Chairman added that the present sitting would be adjourned on the understanding that if a settlement was arrived at the result would be reported to the Board, which would adopt this as its recommendation. 1 ~ The sitting was then adjourned.