BALLOTS ON STRIKES

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25250, 31 July 1947, Page 6

BALLOTS ON STRIKES

New Rule For All Unions AMENDMENT TO ACT

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, July 30. A compulsory secret ballot by members of any union before a decision is made to strike is provided for in the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Bill introduced in the House of Representatives this evening. The bill, which was referred to the Labour Bills Committee, states that it shall be deemed to be a rule of every industrial union that if the members of the union or any section of them are concerned in a dispute likely to result in a strike, no such strike shall take place until the question whether a strike Shall take place has been submitted to a secret ballot of the union members concerned. There is a similar provision dealing with disputes likely to result in a lock-out.

If there is a strike without such ballot having been held, every member of the union who is party to it shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £2O, and every officer of the union shall be liable to a similar penalty unless he proves that he had no means of knowing of the imminence of the strike or that he took every step possible to ensure compliance with the rule and to prevent the strike. Every member of a union who is a party to a lock-out shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £lOOO, and every.officer will be liable to a penalty not exceeding £4OO unless he can prove that he took every step possible to ensure compliance with the rule and to prevent the lock-out. - Nothing in the section shall be deemed to render lawful any strike or lock-out which ' would otherwise .be unlawful.

Provision is also made iiPthe bill for the. appointment of deputy-judges of the Court of Arbitration. The salary of such judges shall be £1750 a year. A deputy-judge is empowered to act as judge of the Court in the absence ot the judge. The Court of Arbitration may delegate work to the deputyjudges. . Another clause in the bill gives the Court direct authority to interpret awards and industrial agreements or to give its opinion upon the construction of any statute relating to matters within the jurisdiction of the Court.