CONCILIATION COUNCIL.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 115, 14 May 1912, Page 2

CONCILIATION COUNCIL.

■ ■ ■ DISFTJTE xn BOOT TRADE. employers object to PROCEED. URGE DIRECT REFERENCE TO COURT. DOMINION AWARD OR NOTHING. The Conciliation Council was engaged this morning in hearing a dispute filed by the New Zealand "Federated Boot Trade Association of Workmen against the New Zealand Boot Manufacturers' Industrial Union of Employers, the claims of the employees including shortening of hours, increase of wages, and general improvement of conditions. The CommissioneT (Mr. T. Haxle Giles) presided, the assessors for the employees •being Messrs. J-Hutchinson, of Welling- i ton, S. C. Brown, of Dimedin, and C. I. I 'Barnes, of Auckland. The assessors for i the employers were Messrs. William '• McKinley, of Dunedin. T. Hodgson, of Auckland, and W. H. Murray, of Auck-1 land. ' I Mr. W. Pryor. secretary of the Xew Zealand Employers' Fed/ration, appeared] for the employers, and.Mr. G. Whiting, of Christchurch, for the employees. Mr. H. j Dearsley, president of the Auckland Boot j Manufacturers' Association, was also present. In opening the proceedings the Commissioner pointed out that under the new regulations a Dominion award was necessary in the boot trade, and if an agreement was arrived at in the present dispute, that agreement would probably •be ratified by the other centres and a Dominion award filed in due course. Mr. Whiting had begun to put his case, when Mr. Pryor interrupted by saying he did not wish Mr. Whiting to make any statement that might perhaps prejudice his case. In short, the employers were not prepared to go on with the matter before the Conciliation Council. The objection was that this was only a local dispute, while the object desired -tvas to take steps for a Dominion award. It was, he said, certainly to be regretted, that delay had taken place in preparing (the new regulations, for it was now nearly six months since the Act was passed, and there had been plenty of time for the framing of regulations. But le was going to ask the Operatives' Federation to withdraw their proceedings and to take steps now to obtain a Dotrrinion award. Otherwise, it seemed to ihe employers to be a useless waste of time to go on over the old gronnd again. For after arriving at an agreement here, other references would have to be filed throughout the Dominion. "We are not prepared to take that risk," he declared, and wont on to say that recently there (was a dispute under the old Act over the woollen mills award. It was clearly understood that that dispute should be held an Wellington, and that the unions should file references in the other centres in accordance with the agreement arrived at. No steps whatever had been taken by the unions in the other centres to file references, so that the employers did not feel disposed to place themselves in a similar position with regard to the present case. They did not, in fact, think there was much chance of. arriving at a settlement. Mr. Whiting demurred at such an attitude being adopted by the employers, md he denied the accuracy of Mr Prvor's remarks respecting the bakers' dispute. Mr Pryor reiterated that his side were not prepared to go on and have a similar result as occurred in the woollen case. In short, they considered the time was ripe for the matter to go before the Arbitration Court. Personally, he was out for settlement every time, but in the present case he felt that it would only be waste of time to discuss an award. They suggested, therefore, that the proceedings he dropped and that a reference be filed •with the Arbitration Court. Everything possible had been done outside the ArbH tration Court, and he was satisfied that an award would be gained more quickly hy going straight to the Court. The Commissioner said it was true a conference had been held in Wellington, and that it had been to a great extent abortive, but it often happened that time ripened the views of both sides, and he suggested that as a local dispute a settlement might be arrived at, subject to the recommendations being embodied in a Dominion award. Mr Pryor objected that the employers «t the conference in Wellington went further than the employers generally would have agreed to go. He was convinced that it would be a clear waste of time to go over the ground again. As a , matter of fact, he thought the Operatives' Association had failed to seize an opportunity which had now passed. Mr Whiting expressed himself at a loss to understand the attitude of the Employers* Federation on the present occasion. The position was that they were there to say if an agreement were arrived «t, that they wanted it to apply to the ■whole of New Zealand. And he was prepared to give an undertaking in writing taking the Commissioner to withhold application -for an award unless it were to apply to. the whole Dominion. They had on both sides representatives of the Dominion. It was not. he argued, a local matter. Why could they not discuss the question therefore, and endeavour to arrive at a mutual understanding? He was quite sure that if they met in a conciliatory spirit they would at least he able to arrive at a. partial, if not a com-

plete, settlement. He was prepared, to meet the other side in arranging a settlement in the interests of both employers and employees. But if the employers refused to meet them, then they might find it necessary to apply through the Court for a hearing- before the Council. The Commissioner expressed the opinion that a more representative conference could not have -been got together, and he thought it would be a pity if no attempt were made to arrive at some understanding. Both parties then separated to confer privately on the position, and at the resumption of the sitting Mr. Pryor agreed to discuss the matter further, providing that the Union representatives would in the meanwhile narrow down

their claims to -bedrock. He would say frankly the terms would have to be very different to those at present proposed, and he would also say that the employers were not now prepared to go as far as they did at the Wellington conference. Further, the other side would have to undertake that if an agreement were arrived at, it should huva Dominion, application. The employers would stick out for the old award with very few modifications. Mr. Brown expressed the opinion that it would be only fair for the employers to let the other side also know how far they were •prepared to go. air. Pryor: We want the old award, but we are prepared to discuss minor proposals that^tte-Unions may bring forS»ard, ~~. _ -

Mr. Whiting: Well, are yon prepared to tell us how you will meet us? Mr. Pryor: No; we are not prepared to go as far as that now. We will go as far as to say that we are not prepared' to depart very far from the present award? conditions. After further discussion, it was decided to adjourn to enable the employees' representatives to consider the advisableness of submitting modified proposals.