CONCILIATION COUNCIL.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13364, 4 March 1909, Page 5

CONCILIATION COUNCIL.

FIRST SITTIXG IX AUCKLAXD. AX ATTACK OX MR. GILES. (press association tei.egp.am.) AI'CKLAXI). Murch 3. The first sitting of the Auckland Conciliation Council tor the hearing tit disputes under the new Arbitration Act took place this morning before Mr. T. Harle Giles, the Conciliation Commissioner for the Auckland district. The case for hearing was the depute between the employers and the lloiel and Restaurant Employers' L'nijii. Mr. T. Long, the representative of the hotel and restaurant employees, said he did not intend to offer any evidence, for two reasons—first, bis union had decided that in its opinion the Conciliation Commissioner for the Auckland district was not a fit and proper person to be appointed to such a responsible post : his second re:i-oii was that it would he absolutely useless for them to bring their ea.-e before the Council after having met the res-taurant-keepers fruitlessly on four different occasions.

Mr. C. E. Knox, who appeared for the employers, said he did not concur in what had been said by the other side. A proper course of procedure had been fixed for the settlement of such disputes, and the employers submitted that the case should go along on its ordinary course. He asked for an adjournment of three weeks. Mr. Long objected to the adjournment His union had neither the time nor the money to in anythin"- of that description. He nrgued' that "the lorjil procedure was to refer the matter straight away to the Arbitration Court He addressed the Commissioner personally, saying:—"lf you haye the welfare of the masses of workers in the industrial district of Auckland at he.-irt 1 call upon you to resign your position because in tho yerv near future there is likely to be an industrial upheaval, and I consider that "

Mr Giles— I hsiva no intention whatever of resigning my position. , ' He said that under the Act the Commissioner had power, in the event r,i the assessors being at variance, to give jus casting vote in favour of an adjournment. The matter was then put to the assessors, and the voting, for and against the adjournment, beiiv equal, the Commissioner decided for the adjournment with his casting vote, on the grounds that the union might later reconsider their position, and see its way to meet in conference and arrive at an amicable settlement of the dispute.