Effect of bill described as sop to trade unions

Press, 19 April 1986, Page 6

Effect of bill described as sop to trade unions

PA Wellington A section of the Commerce Bill removing Government powers to deal with strikes or lock-outs was a “political sop” to the trade union movement, an Opposition member has said in Parliament. Mr J. A. Banks (Whangarei) said the National Government had introduced the powers under the old Commerce Act so that in the event of trade union “intransigency,” the Government could move in with legislation and “sort out problems.”

“This removal of this clause in this bill is the worst kind of political sop this Parliament could wit-

ness; it is a political sop to the trade union movement, another instalment in the repayment regime to their cronies in the trade union movement,” he said during debate on the bill’s committee stages. The Minister of Labour, Mr Rodger, had failed to bring sense to the trade union movement, Mr Banks said. “We have experienced in the last 12 months the worst trade union militancy and strikes this country has seen. “It is an appalling record. “We have here tonight a mechanism which will remove from statute the ability of the Government

to intervene when and if necessary in strikes and lock-outs.” The Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bolger, said Mr Rodger refused to accept the need for some sanctions in al! law. “It is cloud-cuckoo-land thinking to suggest that industrial relations in New Zealand or anywhere else would operate in a sane and efficient manner without some sanctions to guard against excesses, for whatever reason they occur,” he said. However, Mr Rodger said the measures being deleted were redundant. “The sanctions have been seldom invoked,” he said. “Thirteen times during the last 10 years there

have been sanctions filed under the statute. “Of those 13 applications only three reached a decision in the courts, and they all failed. “It is a defunct measure, it is an inappropriate measure for continued inclusion within a statute relating to commerce matters.” Mr Rodger said sufficient powers already existed within the Industrial Relations Act to cover industrial disputes. The bill later passed its committee stages with amendments, including one changing its effective date from April 1 to May 1. The 108-clause bill, introduced last June, is

aimed at keeping prices down by promoting competition in the marketplace. It includes provisions aimed at preventing a person in a dominant position from using the power of that position to deter competition. It also removes from the Commerce Act the provision allowing the Minister of Labour to order a resumption of full work when the economy, or the economy of an industry, is substantially affected, or is likely to be substantially affected, by a strike or lock-out. The Opposition opposed both measures.