COMPOSITE AWARD OPPOSED

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30215, 21 August 1963, Page 14

COMPOSITE AWARD OPPOSED

Wanganella Also Held Unsuitable For Job

(From Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON, August 20. The Federation of Labour is opposed to the Government’s suggestion of a one-award system for all workers on the Manapouri project. It also considers the Wanganella not suitable for housing the workers. “The general feeling was that a proper camp site with full facilities should be built,” said the president (Mr T. E. Skinner) after a meeting of the federation’s council today.

The council confirmed the conference decision to oppose composite awards when it considered the application by the employers for one agreement to govern conditions on the Manapouri project.

Mr Skinner said some of the main unions affected by the proposal -of one agreement had been consulted and all had expressed their opposition to a composite award. The New Zealand Workers’ Union, which is expected to be responsible for most of the workers on the project, was not one of those consulted, according to Mr Skinner. The executive of the federation has been instructed along these lines, but it is not

likely to aot until the Court of Arbitration has ruled on the Employers’ Federation application on behalf of the contracting consortium, Utah. Williamson, Burnett, for exemption of the scheme from other awards and for a composite award. It is possible that the Workers’ Union could accept as members all tradesmen and labourers who work on the scheme, as has been done on other big projects. It would negotiate rates of pay and conditions appropriate to the trades involved. These would have to be not less than those applying in other awards. In the past, all workers except clerical workers have been members of the Workers’ Union on similar schemes This is not regarded as contrary to the federation’s policy on composite awards as only one union is involved. The Otago Labourers'

Union which, unlike the General Labourers’ Union, is affiliated to the federation, was among those consulted for its views on a composite award. Mr Skinner said today there would not be apposition to a composite award if all the unions concerned agreed to it, but this was not the case here. All those approached had been against it. Special Conditions The council had agreed, said Mr Skinner, that taking into account the nature of the work on the Manapouri job and its isolation, special conditions. different from those generally accepted, might have to be negotiated. Parliament ■ last year amended the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act to provide machinery for negotiating one award in a particular industry. This machinery is not being used by the Employers’ Federation in seeking one award. It has made a direct approach to the Arbitration Court under a section of the act which provides for exemption of a party from an award. The act provides that, where workers are engaged upon different trades and employed in any one business of a particular employer, the Court may make one award for the whole business. The Employers’ Federation has given notice to unions likely to be engaged on the Manapouri project of its proposal to seek this exemption. A Court hearing on its application for exemption of the project from the General Labourers’ Award will be held next month. If the Court ruled against this exemption (which would lead to the establishment of a composite award) it is likely that the Workers' Union award would apply to the scheme and all workers would become members of that union.