ARBITRATION COURTS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 August 1938, Page 2

ARBITRATION COURTS

AGREEMENT ON MATTERS OF POLICY STATEMENT BY MR JUSTICE HUNTER (By Telegraph—Press Association.) AUCKLAND, August 17. In regard to the suggestion that a definite direction should be given to the parties on the question of hours Mr Justice Hunter, in the Second Court of Arbitration, which is hearing the motor and horse-drivers’ dispute, said after an adjournment yesterday that, although it could not be said whether the present dispute was on all fours with that of the Dominion bakers, the industry was an old-estab-lished one in which the parties had reached agreements which were made into awards in the past. Mr Justice O’Regan, after his pronouncement on th£ fixing of hours, had been asked by a union advocate whether the question of hours was thus finally settled, and had replied, “Certainly not,” but that it was too early to make a change, which would necessitate that it should be shown that conditions had altered radically. He also referred to the announced intention of the court to allow an increase of 5s weekly in wages, stating that it was the cour’t opinion that these pronouncements should be followed. “We confer with Mr Justice O’Regan on all matters of policy,” he said, “and fully realise that it is of utmost importance that the two courts should be in agreement. He then instructed the parties to confer further. In reply to a question by Mr Allerby on the attitude of the court to the framing of sections of the award, his Honour said that the court could not tie the parties. The onus was on the party making the request for a change.