POWERS ARE RESTRICTED

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 210, 21 June 1950, Page 4

POWERS ARE RESTRICTED

HOSPITAL BOARDS GOVERNMENT’S ACTION CRITICISED (P.A.) TIMARU, June 20. The action of the Government in deleting a section from the hospital regulations so that employees of boards were deprived of access to the Arbitration Court was criticised by the chairman (Mr E. Macdonald) qt a meeting of the South Canterbury Hospital Board to-day.

Commenting on a circular letter received from the Director-General of Health on behalf of the Minister of Health (Mr J. T. Watts), Mr Macdonald said the powers of hospital boards were further restricted, and not restored. He viewed such an action with a great deal of misgiving, which he knew would be shared by most other boards.

“The first thing the circular does is to deprive a section of the community—hospital boards and their employees—of industrial rights that have existed for 37 years,” said Mr Macdonald. “These rights are still enjoyed by the rest of the community. This has been done by the Government deleting all reference to the Labour Disputes Investigation Act (1913) from the interpretation clauses of the hospital regulations. There is not the slightest doubt that this action is aimed at the South Canterbury Board for exercising its legal right to enter into voluntary agreement under that act with four of its principal officers. The agreement was to give fair and reasonable remuneration to the officers concerned as an adequate reward for the high standard of service they have maintained—in the case of two officers for 25 years.” As a result of the new move by the Government, his board’s agreement was rendered invalid—as the Minister intended—while it was still before the Arbitration Court, Mr Macdonald said. Whether similar action was likely to be taken in regard to industrial agreements which many boards were now operating it was difficult to say, but there was every reason to enter an emphatic protest at the Minister’s action.

The reimposition of stabilisation on hospital boards “only a short time after it had been abolished” was commented upon by Mr Macdonald, who thought that only hospital boards and employees were now held stabilised. “The board still has a legal right by reason of the abolition of the Stabilisation Regulations, 1942, to increase the salaries of some sections of their employees, but first the Minister’s approval has to be obtained,” he said. “Boards are informed that the Government will introduce retrospective legislation or regulations as necessary. “I understood that retrospective legislation was regaVded as bad in principle and the negation of democracy,” said Mr Macdonald. ' In this case it means that if the board exercises a certain right which is perfectly legal now, it may in a month or two find itself liable to a penalty because of this legislation.” It was decided by a unanimous vote that the board should make a strong protest through its association against the continuance of the restrictions and the imposition of more. A request will be made to have power restored to boards to fix conditions of employment for employees, at least senior employees engaged in administrative and managerial duties.