ARBITRATION COURT

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 48, Issue 86, 21 January 1928, Page 5

ARBITRATION COURT

RELATION TO INDUSTRY.. WAGES AND PRICES. PROFESSOR TOCKER'S VIEWS. (Press Association—Copyright.) (Received This Day, 12.25 p.m.) HOBART, This Day. The Science CfJagress has ended. A tentative scheme for the interchange of lectures between America, Australia and Japan was announced to the Education Section. It was suggested that New Zealand might be asked to co-operate with Australia. The proposed period of exchange was two years. t Professor Tocker (New Zealand) during a discussion by the Economic Section of the merits and demerits of the arbitration system in Australia and New Zealand said that unemployment in New Zealand had been very severe in the two years, partly owing to the depression caused by the heavy fall in prices of exports, and it had added force to certain criticisms of State regulation of industrial relations. Last year a Bill was introduced by the Government to amend the law, but protests from both employers and trade unions caused most of it to be withdrawn pending an inquiry into the operation of compulsory arbitration. Professor Tocker outlined the salient points of the inquiry into the net material production of New Zealand, and said that at least 70 per cent, was primary production for export. Trade unions as a whole had enrolled only one quarter of the wage-earners in New Zealand, . these being largely in sheltered industries not meeting oversea competition. The system of compulsory arbitration was almost . confined to manual workers in sheltered industries, but the standards? laid down tended to become the standards for many employments beyond the immediate scope of the Court and farmers found that they had to give similar rates and conditions. The Court had adopted the cost of living as the basis and had a stereotyped standard of living. It had not- succeeded in preventing strikes, partly because certain militant unions chose to remain beyond its scope. The Court operated over part of the industry where it was not. required to prevent industrial strikes, but failed to operate where it was most required for that purpose. It had fostered unionism' rather than mutual agreement. Professor Tocker said he thought the disappearance of sweating and improvement in conditions generally were due to the increase in prosperity rather than to the Court. A'critical time had come with a fall of 20 per cent, in prices in biggest export - industries. Professor Fish (New Zealand) said the arbitration system to some degree was responsible for the higher cost of living but it would be risky to make drastic changes in industrial legislation in Australia, and New where the system of arbitration so" firmly established. Mr Eraser (New Zealand Government Statistician) said the object of arbitration in the Dominion was'to increase wages.