INDUSTRIAL LAWS

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 46, 1 September 1928, Page 18

INDUSTRIAL LAWS

NATIONAL CONFERENCE DISCUSSION IN HOUSE The,, debate on tho report of the National , Industrial .Conference, occupied the whole of yesterday afternoon,in the House of Representatives, but was not concluded, being adjourned till another occasion. Continuing his speech after "The Post" went to press, Mr. W. B. Parry (Auckland Central) urged that the first essential towards industrial peace ■was organisation on'national lines covering Hho whole of : thojindiistries of tho dominion. .< Unionism, ,he said, should be the basis of that organisation. ; Such an organisation would be of the utmost value, for it could deal with all the problems which were fac- ' ing the country from an industrial point of view. Tho standard of living of the people could bo watched, and Bteps ;could bo taken to sco that it was ppt lowered. Sooner or later New Zealand would be faced with the necessity of increasing her internal markets, and that could only be done by building up tho secondary. industries. Tho formation of a "national organisation suchias ho had suggested should be tho main aim of the conference to bo called' during tho coming summer. Mr. Parry suggested that during'the coming dec-' tion Campaign; candidates should not devote undue -attention.-;to industrial problems, but ihould .le&vo their settlement to tho coming; conference. THE SECONDAEY INDUSTRIES. - Sir , John Suko (Wellington' North), referred to-fhe:.%irnioriio;iis nature of tho conference; and' 'contrasted the spirit? which prevailed with that of a similar conference held at Home. He did Wot think the New Zealand conference could have had any better results, in tho time at the disposal of the delegates, and he had; no.' doubt that tho next conference 'would take up the work at tho point where tho last conference had left off. Ono of the main questions that would have to be tackled was that of third-party representation before the Arbitration Court. Unemployment was, of course, another subject that would engage attention, and Jit was to be hoped some solution of the problem': of regulating the sup- ' ply o£,labour would be arrived at. One way "of providing employment was to encourage tho establishment of secondary industries which could be successfully carried on. ..Ho thought it would bo well if this country could fill up its vacant spaces. The time had arrived,, perhaps, when, cpnsidera-. tion: should be given to a system of closer settlement. To those farmers ■who" Said they could live without the towns he would say that if they attempted to live b; their own resources they would fail. The. towns must have -workshops. It was unthinkable that New Zealand could be only an agricultural, and pastoral country. Tho woollen industry was one of the most important that cduid be developed in the country. .It was;a wise step on the part of the Prime .Minister to call another industrial conference in tho recess;; and % hoped that the matter would not ba-raised at the. General Election. :'Ee:Xbelievcd in the Arbitration Court,; and regarded the Concilia : tion Councils as a .means of maintaining good 'relations in industry. . FUTILITY OF CONFERENCES. Mr. W.:A.y.eitch (Wanganui) looked with- considerable misgiving on the future of the Arbitration Act. Ho hoped that the workers would not allow; themselves to be drawn aside from the' principles of arbitration. In his opinion nothing much could come from the "establishment of Conciliation Councils, because as a general rulo it happened that conferences between disputants were futile.' Better results were obtained when there > was an arbiter to pronounce a decision based on fixed principles of law. They heard a lot about the lion and the lamb lying uow^ together, but it often, happened thai they had to renew the lamb. Mi. J. A. Lee (Auckland East); "And have the mint sauce occasiontliy." ■-•■■ Mr. Veitchsaid he doubted whether another conference would be successful. Something more comprehensive than a conference was required. The more experience he had the less reliance he placed on the, outcome.of conferences, where after speeches were made and compromises, effected the decisions were almost entirely useless. That had been the-case in connection with the last conference. Parliament should accept its 'responsibility; and deal with, the question. ' -.' Mi. R. M'Keen (Wellington South) considered that there was a tendency on .the part of the majority in Parliament —the farmers—to legislate in their own;': interests..; No' difference should bo -made whether a man owned a farttt or a factory.: ■ ..- ;.-..;; Mjr. G. W. Forbes (Hurunui) reviewed the'proceedings of the conference, and said ■'that ".unless."there was a spirit of co-operation it would be useless to expect good results. The question of ■whether the putting of cream into jam tarts was skilled labour or not should be settled/in some other way than by reference to the Arbitration Court. jSiINISTERS 1 INDIFFERENCE. My. D. G. Sullivan (Avon) suggested tha'fc the matters agreed upon at the conference should be adopted by the Government. To do that would show that, the Government was sincere in its expressed desire to preserve industrial- peace. He regretted that more representatives of tho Government had. not taken part in the debate —(Mr. Holland: Hear, hear.), ft wa3 disturbing that so" many Ministers had shown indifference. He was afraid that the Prime Minister had gone some distance with those who favoured the abandonment of compulsory arbitration. He favoured the idea of councils on which the workers and the employers would have representation. They would get trouble if they abolished the Arbitration Court without putting some other authority in its place. Mr. J. A. Nash (Palmerston) • said the 'decision reached by the members of the Parliamentary Committee not to. take part in the conference deliberations was a wise one. He did not agree that the recommendations of the conference in ■ regard to immigration should be put into effect yet, in view o? the fact that another conference was to be held. . Mr. P. Fraser (Wellington Contral) said he thought so much material had been gathered for a workers' insurance that a sehemo could bo formulated right away. In regard to workers' compensation,, he submitted that the Government should give effect immediately to the unanimous decision of the Industrial Conference on the question of medical attention.