Unions may seek ruling on wages

Press, 14 August 1976, Page 3

Unions may seek ruling on wages

PA Wellington The present dispute of the Drivers’ Union, with a ban on hauling trailers and talk of stoppages next week, may point to the Supreme Court's being asked to rule on the validity of the wage regulations.

The industrial scene has become contused in the last few days as both sides find they have no common ground on the interpretation of “exceptional circumstances. ’’ Because the Federation of Labour’s test case, that of the Drivers’ Union, has not been able to get beyond conciliation talks, the Industrial Commission has not been able to decide what the term means. Apparently, the unions are studying the feasibility of an attempt to question the Government’s right to pass regulations If such a Supreme Court application went ahead it would be by a major union. In a speech on Wednesday to the Public Service Association conference. Professor K. J. Keith, of Victoria University. questioned the validity of some of the regulations. He said some of the wage and price control regulations had been passed with “scant

regard for the principle governing the allocation of lawmaking powers.” Such a complete I inflexibility b; the Government over wages could provoke strong union reaction, even from moderate unions, Mr A. J. Faulkner (Lab., Roskill) said yesterday. Speaking in Parliament during the Budget debate, Mr Faulkner said if the National caucus continued its rigid stance on industrial relations, “then we are in real trouble.” He offered his support to the Minister of Labour (Mr Gordon), saying that industrial relations were too important for either party to make political capital of them. Unions had had the wages “screwed down pretty tight” for several years, said Mr Faulkner. The Government should show enough understanding to allow the Industrial Commission to decide what constituted “exceptional circumstances.” Meanwhile, the Public Ser-

vice Association will start [talks with the Government to seek an application of the October ruling rate survey. The unanimous decision to seek talks came after an address to the P.S.A. conference by the chairman of the Combined State Services Organisation (Mr Ivan Reddish). He told the conference that the Post Office Association would be seeking a ruling rate survey, and would demand that it be back-dated to April.