INDUSTRIAL LEGISLATION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 753, 28 February 1910, Page 4

INDUSTRIAL LEGISLATION.

/' For sonie,.'reason: which we. cannot / quite /discover . the Canterbury Employers' Association is\-'a'|. more vigorous :body: than, thei local Association; ari'd has especially .distinguished /itself. /in! the! discussion! !of! industrial' and'/ other, questions' of: .moment.'./ Its/meetings are .'almost al-! ways productive of interesting:and' suggestive: opinions, 'and /this; ..was; the' case with its -quarterly meeting, held last week..- One bf the subjects dealt with; in the quarterly report, / arid"in'the /ensuing, discussion,/was that annual Parliamentary, scandal,; the "end-pf-the-session.-. rush." ' .We; are very 'glad to T _'fiid that 'the As-- ■ has !'again;referred to the. .matter;,-' it-is: a very!'extraordinary' ■ and.regrettable thing that a practice so' costly and - so. injurious to; the country,/ arid .'so /degrading, to': bur. politics,' should not .have, called .forth' widespread,.condemnation. 1 years ago - from,all those: bodies whichihaveany. interest; in, the proper-! working/of. Parliament,;- '■ NoV doubt the, great difficulty/is that 1 each session it'is hoped/that'.better methods: will;prevail./ "'.;When,''as .must'happen sooner or /.latef, : /the scaridai is'/.too/.great, longer to be: borne,'',the- public/will' insist on!a.restoration bf decency .to; the!: proceduro /of ■/Parliament ;;'; arid this can only, bo .done: by sending mcn./.to, the; House; who/ will/ insist upon the :very/simple 'reforms/that wiU'/do'/what !is;,required. / The CanT !.terbury! Association- is, beginning! .to; realise ';' J th'at:'/ "no-- protest, '.however, strongly:worded,' would!;make any, impression on the Government," arid ti^e'employers,of.'the:colony are invited v;to /consider/ whether- .other! means than "a mere formal/protest" • shall not be- takeri'to .'end the': ev'ii.

Referenoe' is also -made -in the:re-, .porttb. the of the/Concilia-,, tion/•Councils,/,of, which''it ■'■ ,is said ■.that ; they; have-not- given/ general satisfaction'. The- union'si- very ..often make 'demands '\ which! they ,do...riot, expect, to' be; granted in;"full,'"'-'in' order that they might.be able to get' the employees prevailed upon, either through their [ own pleadings or .by appeals ..from .the; Coihmissipner jto give'. : at; least.; somethirig',,,'-whether, .that something,was likely to ba,deferi- : mental- .to. the;'interests 'of/the .employers or,' not,";; Why,' it ; may,be., objected, do riot the. employors.'stand; '.firm,' relying on-the justice;of their cause and > on; the ability - of ■ trie Ar-' bitfation Court to/see that justice is _done 1 '.We'-'believe;ourselves, that' this is what the employers should do; but it is, very easy to understand that they, do-not 'care, by-.resisting claims which 'they believe to be bad and unreasonable,/'to expose them■selvcs'; to" a. charge : ,.of -wanton per-, yersity. : The . positiori of, the /em-' ployer. is,, always, weak-, under the ■Act.; : He -has rio -guarantee,'; evennow, that the, .workers will 'abide loyally by the Court's award. i'He has .no guarantee.; that/wheri'. he;resists 1 , unjust /demands," any, reduction h those demands, however small,, will not be; loudly, quoted, .against him, .;and I quoted .with, success,: •■''as proof of.; the; reasonableness of the workers, and proof, 1 therefore,/.'of his' own; obstinacy. -The employers 'will' be very unwise, in the lorigrun, if they /refuse to run the risk of being misrepresented. If they;..havel justice .on their. side, they will receive justification. in the success of "their appeal; to the ; Court." .Moreover, though they may acquiesce' in ' the unions' demands before the Councils only under protest, yet .the records .will show - only that they acquiesce; and as these records grow they will ■be.more and more strongly urged as reasons for the abolition of the right of appeal to the Court. /■• If,: out of fear of being called perverse,:'.' the employers constantly give way, they will wake up one- day/to- find that even such protection as is' afforded [by the Arbitration Court is gone. ; '-. The /chairman of the Canterbury Association raised an /issue of grave importance when he said, that "they had good; reason for thinking that next; session; legislation' on the lines of the Shops; and Offices Act would again be brought, down."; If; this occurred, "the whole question 'J 61 legislation over-riding awards of the Arbitration/Court : would have to be fought out." It is a "remarkable commentary upon the disregard- for sound principles that is exhibited by Parliament that there should exist any necessity, for such an engagement.: The Arbitration Court exists t) fix the.hours arid wages and general conditions_ of labour in the industries which it controls, arid it can only fix these by carefully inquiring into all. the circumstances, of each industry. ; Parliament has entrusted the Court with full and final authority to make /awards : comfqrmable with, tho- -requirements of; justice.' When;: therefore, an award is overridden .by Statute, as has been the case, the Court is reduced to a nullity, and injustice is inflicted upon some of'-,- the parties to the awards. When .wages or. hours ; :in- any indus- ■ try regulated/by the Act are rigidly fixed-by a special Statute, what has happened is that the Court is legrojjodi it;is;told !in effect; "J.ou

can make inquiries and do .justice' here, and here,, and here; but over this particular area you must not stray. Justice shall not be done in this region, for which we.have rigidly' fixed the laws. Your inquiries might lead you, if you were free, to lay down other conditions here, But you may not do so." It is invariably at Labour's .solicitation, .'that the Government interferes with the Court's freedom. The Court, as Me. F. W. Hobbs : pointed out, is "unbiased and independent: it has not to consider vote-catching, and can decide a.qucstion on its;merits without considering whether its, decision will alienate tho support, ;of constituents." That is very well,put, and we trust that .the various' Employers'- Associations ■ will see - to'. it that the very .strongest,.protest, is made if, for vote-catching:purposes, Parliament is 'asked to -encroach further on the domain- of the Court.