Christchurch to have mediator

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33776, 24 February 1975, Page 1

Christchurch to have mediator

An industrial mediator will be appointed in Christchurch soon as part of an expansion programme planned by the Government for the mediation service.

The Government will also transfer the longest serving mediator, Mr J. P. Cranston, to Wellington from Auckland as senior mediator, and appoint an additional mediator in Auckland.

The expansion programme was announced yesterday by the Minister of Labour (Mr Faulkner).

The Minister said he was highly delighted at the success of the industrial mediation service, the Press Association reported.

“There can be no doubt,” he said, "that the mediators have proved remarkably successful in settling disputes which otherwise might have been very difficult to deal with.

“It is my hope that by expanding the service we will be able to give the mediators more time to get into the preventive area of industrial relations.

“Rather than living from crisis to crisis, 1 want to get the mediators into a position where they can deal with the

[causes before they have time to develop into crises,” Mr Faulkner said.

“Ideally, we should have the position where a mediator can see potential problems arising or where a union , or employer can ring him and advise of trouble building up, and the service can immediately intervene and sort things out before there is any real confrontation. “I still have to discuss this with the Industrial Relations Council, but it is my intention that we should continue expanding both the number of mediators and the extent of their activity,” Mr Faulkner said.

The president of the F.O.L. (Mr T. E. Skinner), who is on the selection panel for mediators, along with the executive director of the Em-

ployers’ Federation (Mr P. J. Luxford) and the Secretary of Labour (Mr E. G. Davey) welcomed the moves. “This is what we have been working towards for some time,” he said. “The mediation service has already made a very valuable contribution to industrial relations in this country, and with more mediators it will be able to do even more.”