AWARDS INVALID?

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 225, 23 September 1933, Page 10

AWARDS INVALID?

AUCKLAND DECISION.

COMMENT BY EMPLOYERS.

<WILL NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE'

(By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, tliis day

The secretary of the Employers Federation, Mr. T. O. Bishop, made a statement to-day in connection with the ruHng of the Arbitration Court at Auckland that two awards are invalid, hi consequence of the decision of the Appeal Court in regard to certain clauses.

"I think ;mi altogether wrong impression may be created,'' lie said, by &>.a.,cnients published with reference to the declaration by the Court of Arbitration that two recently-made awards are invalid. These awards were both obtained in the Same way, upon failuie of a conciliation council to reach agreement. The previous awards of the Court were cancelled, and the union then entered into industrial agreements privately with a number of employers, whom they canvassed for signatures, and later they applied to the Court to have these agreements converted into awards. Still later they applied to have joined /is parties to these awards a number of employers who were not parties to the making of the agreements in the first place, and who strongly objected to the terms and conditions contained 111 them.

"At this stage,. Mr. Wright, secretary of the Auckland Employers' federation, pointed out to the Court that the awards contained clauses which did not come within the scope of the Court's jurisdiction, and therefore the awards were invalid, and new parties could not be added to them. In the method by which these awards were obtained they are on all fours with the industrial agreement for the Auckland butchers, which was upset by the Court of Appeal's judgment, in what has come to be known as the Hellaby case. ' JNot Endangered." "What I want to make clear is that in my opinion neither the latest decision of the Court of Arbitration nor the decision of the Court of Appeal in the Hellaby case in any way endangers existing awards that have been obtained in tlio proper way by negotiations between duly-accredited representatives of the parties, and I shall be very surprised if any section of the employers seeks to take advantage of the inclusion in any award so made of a clause, or clauses, which might possibly be invalid. I think the statement that at least 80 per cent of tlio existing industrial awards and agreements are invalid is probably a great exaggeration, although I have not been carefully through all the awards to determine this point, but whether it is an exaggeration or not I am convinced that the employers party to such awards, which have -been properly made in all good faith, will observe them throughout their entire period. Good Faith the Foundation. "In the past sonic of our major industries have carried on for years at a time on agreements honourably entered into, but which have not been made legally enforceable by registration in any way, and which in some cases. liave not even been signed.

"The foundation of the industrial system of Xew Zealand depends much more upon good faith and confidence between employers on the one hand, and workers on the other than upon legal enforcement."