THE PRESENT COURT

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 122, 19 November 1937, Page 10

THE PRESENT COURT

ACCUMULATED WORK

(Uv J ~uph~l'reisr Aspociation.)

AUCKLAND, November 18.

The present Arbitration Court, comprising Mr. Justice O'Regan, Mr. W. Cecil Prime, employers' member, and Mr. A. L. Monteith, workers' member, will go into recess to overtake a vast accumulation of work, the personnel of the Court remaining at Auckland.

Fixtures have already been made for Industrial disputes to be heard by the Court next week, and the change-over in Courts will not necessitate any alteration of these arrangements. The new Court will merely take1 over'and replace the present members, commencing with the hearing set down for the day on which the change is made.

Arrears of work to be overtaken by the Court are of sufficient magnitude to keep members fully occupied until the Christmas holidays. A total of 17 industrial disputes and eight miscellaneous matters have been heard and the Court is thus faced with the task of issuing 17 Swards and eight other decisions. ; In spite of the creation of the new Court, the present body will not have an unbroken period in which to deal with accumulated matters. The list of fixtures for hearing in the near future at Auckland includes several matters that have already, been ■ partly heard by the present Court and others which, for various reasons, the same Court will have to hear. It is therel--fore likely that the Court will sit oh odd days when its services are specially required. So,busy is the Arbitration Court at present that it has been sitting outside ordinary Court hours. This week it sat until 5.30 o'clock on Tuesday and Wednesday, and did not rise until 10.15 o'clock tonight, at the conclusion of the Dominion Dairy Workers' dispute. In addition, the Court will sit on Saturday. Thei members have been obliged to devote weekends to the preparation of awards and other decisions.