EL—ll.

The business done under the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act during the year may be summarised as follows :— Industrial agreements .. . . . . . . .. . . ..12 t Conciliation Boards. Recommendations .. .. .. .. .. . . .. 9 Interpretations .. .. .. .. .. .. . . 1 Other decisions (permits to under-rate workers, &c.) . . . . .. 252 Arbitration Court. Awards .. . . . . . . .. .. .. ' 88 Enforcement of awards (conducted by Department) .. .. . . 552 Enforcement of awards (conducted by unions) .. .. . . 29 Enforcement of section 15 (re strikes) . . .. .. .. . . 4 Interpretations of awards .. .. .. .. . . 47 Other decisions (amending awards, adding parties, &c.) .. .. 33 Applications for awards where no awards were made . . .. . . 2 Cases under Workers' Compensation for Accidents Act . . .. 39 Magistrates' Court. Enforcement of awards (conducted by Department) .. .. ..113 Enforcement of awards (conducted by unions) .. .. .«. .. 2 Other decisions (applications for permits) .. .. .. .. 3 Enforcement of section 5 " Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act Amendment Act, 1908" (re strikes) .. .. .. 21 Inspectors of Factories. Permits to under-rate workers .. .. .. .. .. 21 Secretaries of Unions. Permits to under-rate workers .. . . .. .. .. 35 The Department took 552 cases before the Court of Arbitration for breaches of award, against 754 cases last year. Of the cases taken this year, 463 were decided in favour of the Department, 50 were dismissed, 38 withdrawn, and in 1 case decision was withheld. In the 29 cases conducted by unions, 16 convictions were obtained, 9 cases dismissed, and 4 withdrawn. In departmental cases £580 2s. 3d. penalties were imposed, and in cases conducted by unions £30 10s. as penalties. Of the 113 cases taken to the Stipendiary Magistrates' Courts by the Department 101 were won, 9 dismissed, and 3 withdrawn. The fines inflicted amounted to £229 7s. The unions prosecuted in 2 cases, both of which were dismissed. Moneys recovered for Workers. During the year Inspectors have recovered £1,561 ss. 7d. for the benefit of 311 workers. This money consists mostly of back-wages, payments for holidays, overtime, &c, due under different labour laws, but the withholding of which was not considered by the Department worthy of prosecution, as in these cases the lapses had arisen through inadvertence, or through ignorance of the law's requirements. The Kauri-gum Industry Act. At the end of March delegates from branches of the Auckland Gum-diggers' Union assembled from all parts of the northern gumfields at a conference held in Auckland. I attended the Conference, and laid the result of their deliberations before the Government. The dominant feeling of the meeting was evidently dislike and fear of the Austrian gum-digger, whose systematic exhaustion of the gumfields imperils the industry of the British digger. The complaints made were generally in the direction of the following statements : (1) That the Austrian is not subject to a fair language-test on arrival; (2) that he obtains naturalisation too easily ; (3) that there is no real supervision by the Rangers, with the result that men without proper licenses or credentials ply the avocation of digger ; (4) that the direction of affairs under the Act should be in the hands of the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Auckland, or some Government official, instead of being perfunctorily controlled by local bodies (no objection is made to the local bodies receiving license fees if these are properly and fairly collected).

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