TRAM STRIKE TRIBUNAL.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20543, 11 May 1932, Page 12

TRAM STRIKE TRIBUNAL.

MR DONNELLY TO BE CHAIRMAN. IMPORTANT QUESTIONS OF PROCEDURE. PRELIMINARY MEETING TO-DAY. Preparation of their statements of claim, which will bo placed before a tribunal under the chairmanship of Mr A. T. Donnelly, fully occupied both the Christchurch Tramway Board and the Tramway Employees' Union yesterday. It is unlikely that the tribunal will sit until to-morrow at the earliest, although a preliminary meeting will be held this morning. The decision of the tribunal, it is understood, will be filed as an industrial agreement and will be accepted by both parties in the dispute. In the meantime, the Board is extending its service on five lines into the evening. Although there are still many problems to be settled the agreement between the Board and the union, which was reached after protracted negotiations at 1.15 o'clock yesterday morning, will at least bring the dispute before a legal and constitutional tribunal. According to the Labour Dieputcs Investigation Act (1913) the Minister for Labour may refer a dispute "relating to conditions of employment," to a Labour Dispute Committee comprising not more than seven members. Bach party is to have equal representation on this committee, and either the committee or the Minister is empowered to appoint a chairman. In the present case, the Minister has delegated his powers to the Conciliation Commissioner (Mr P. Hally), who yesterday interviewed Mr Arthur Donnelly, the chairman suggested in the parties' agreement, and persuaded him to-act. The Commissioner has besides, under Section 23 of the Act, wide powers to take any such steps as he thinks necessary to secure a voluntary settlement of the dispute. The chairman (Mr E. H. Andrews), Mr G. T. Booth, and Mr W. Hay ward will .'represent the Board on the committee, while the union's representatives will be Mr H. T. Armstrong, M.P., Mr J. Mathison, and Mr A. T. Boanas. Each party will produce evidence for the committee's consideration. The Chairman's Vote. A question which can be decided only when the tribunal meets is whether the chairman is to have a casting vote. Uuder the Act, he may have a casting, but not a deliberative vote, and even this only if the other members of the committee agree. At present it appears certain that Mr Donnelly will be given .this casting vote, for the. representatives of both parties recognise that in thie way only is the dispute likely to %<& settled and have complete' confidence in their chairman' 3 impartiality. In this event the settlement of the whole dispute will devolve largely upon Mr Donnelly himself. The 5 : Tramway Board lias made the reservation that the claims of its volunteer workers must 'be .given every consideration; but i n : : doing this. the . chairman (|4r;E. H. Andrews) said yesterday, the 'Board is not reserving the right to deal with these workers apart from the tribunal's decisions, but is merely making a recommendation to the tribunal. In other words, under the terms of the agreement, the Board will be satisfied if «the claims of the new men are given every consideration in regard to the definite undertaking given them by the Board as to the terms of their employment."*

Still a Difficult Problem. It is difficult to say what the solution of this particular problem wilUbe, since the Board has now 156 men on its traffic staff. These include 39 members of the union, 29 former employees, 11 motormen and conductors with tramway experience in other centres, and 77 volunteer workers. Even when the solution is found, the Board may be confronted with a situation where members of the union who refused to strike, have to work side by sido with their fellows who did strike.'

Both the. Board and the union are making every, effort to have their statements of claim and orders of reference prepared immediately so that the tribunal may then be summoned at the earliest possible moment. An early decision is regarded as particularly important since the whole agreement under which tho tramwaymen work comes up for renewal on June Bth, and it is not considered desirable to allow the present dispute to be still unsettled when negotiations for the new agreement are opened.

A New Agreement. - According to the terms of the Act, the Labour Disputes Committee must hear evidence, report its investigations to the Minister, and, if a settlement of the dispute is not reached, include in this report, recommendations for a settlement. Any agreement reached- must specify the time during which it shall remain in force and must provide for the manner in which any questions of interpretation are to be decided. Other sections of the Act limit the time within which the committee must reach settlement, but it is difficult to see how these can be followed since the period is taken from the day on which a notice of the complaints was delivered to the Minister and in' the present case no such notice was given by the union. The chairman of a Labour Disputes Committee is allowed fees from the Consolidated Fund, but the other members of the committee are not paid from public funds. FURTHER REMAND. VIOLENCE BY TRAMWAYMEN ALLEGED. A further remand to Friday, on the application of counsel, was made yesterday in the case of the three tramwaymen charged with using violence against a loyal tramway employee with a view to. compelling him to abstain fiom working. The accused are: Ernest George Ellis, a motorman, 43 years of age. George Albert Knowles, a conductor, 36 years of age. Colin Trevor Henry Dixon,- a motorman, 30 years of age. , Counsel said that he had not yet been able to get in touch with certain witnesses necessary for the defence. Bail was renewed at £350 with two sureties in each case of £250.