LABOURERS' AWARDS

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 78, 2 April 1931, Page 17

LABOURERS' AWARDS

PARTIES STRUCK OUT

Application was niado to the Arbitration Court yesterday afternoon to strike out from the Wellington General Labourers' Award the names of the Mastorton, Ekotahuna, Akitio, Mauriceville, and Castlepoint County Councils. After hearing argument on behalf of the councils and the union, tho Court granted the application. Mr. W. J. Mountjoy, on behalf of the Masterton County Council, whoso case was taken first, said that when the dispute was before the Court last August he had made a general objection to the inclusion of county councils in the award.- As no application had been made by either the council or the union, the Court had -apparently included the name in error. He submitted that the Court had statutory power to remedy the error. The. labourers employed by the Masterton Council were not members of the union, and they had not asked the union to act for them. It was contended that the union was not at the time the award was made nor at tho present time representative of tho workers. ■'■■ .. ' ,: ' : . . Mr. P. M. Butler, secretary of tne union, said he would admit that the majority of the workers were not members of the union. When the operations of the union were being extended to the whole of the Wellington industrial district all .the jcpunty. councils in the. Wairarapa were cited. A branen of the union had been established m the district. Mr. Butler alleged that the county councils,: including Masterton, had declined to meet the union m its proposals to apply the award to the district without interfering with certain arrangements made between the workers and the councils. The union wished to protect the men, and it was suggested that" a separate award could be made for county councils. Mr; • Mbuntjoy produced a petition signed by all the labourers employedby the Masterton • Council asking not to be brought under the award. He said that the same arguments applied to' the other councils. .' ,' . . Mr. Butler suggested that when, no award was in operation in a district the^re was a tendency for men to sign a petition against an award being put into effect to avoid any risk of losing their jobs. . ... ,•.■•-. ' ■. , Mr. Justice ITrazer said it might be quite a good idea to have a separate award for county, councils, but what the Court had to consider at present was whether it had any jurisdiction to include the names without being satisfied that the' workers wanted to come in, and that the union was representative of the majority of the workers. Under the circumstances the . names would be struck out, but there was nothing to prevent the union from apply: ing later to have them added if the men were willing to join the union. Consideration of an application to join the Pahiatua County Council was adjourned, aa Mr. Butler said he was not in a position to prove that the union represented the majority of workers.