ARBITRATION ASSESSORS.

Evening Star, Issue 19697, 26 October 1927, Page 6

ARBITRATION ASSESSORS.

Of tho three leading features of the Arbitration Act Amendment Bill the proposed alteration of tho constitution of the court is probably of the least real importance. At first sight it is surprising to find that the Employers’ Federation strongly opposes the removal of the two permanent assessors. Ono Now Zealand economist, Professor Murphy, has described our arbitration system as “ industrialism submitted to the strait-jacket of a procrustean legal system.” The court, ho says, is not flexible enough to accommodate itself to tho changing requirements of industry, and awards, legislative in their nature and operative over large areas with no modifications to meet local circumstances, impart an element of rigidity where flexibility is needed. These drawbacks should bo remedied by the proposal to replace permanent assessors by pairs drawn from the industry immediately concerned, if tho experience afforded by tho smooth and satisfactory working of the Wages Boards in Victoria is any guide. But the Now Zealand employers appear to rate the ri-.k of too rigid awards much lower than the risk of not getting any awards at all. Under the proposed new system they foresee the work ol the court being so slowed down that congestion will result in deadlock.

First of all, according to Mr Bishop, secretary of the Employers' Federation, neither the managements nor tho working stall’s will be able to provide the type of man suitable for the job. “ Tho qualities which go to make a success!nl arbitrator arc many, and are rarely found in business men,” says Mr Bishop, and “ it will be even more difficult to obtain arbitrators representing workers.” The first of these, at least, is a surprising admission from such a source; but ns its avowed basis is ilm experience of conciliation councils and disputes committees, the responsibility of contesting it, lot alone contradicting it, shall not bo ours. 1t all goes to prove that the litigious spirit which the conciliation and arbitration system has developed has frustrated the intentions of its founders, which were that the groat majority of disputes would bo quietly settled by informal conciliation proceedings. But, as one critic of the system as it stands to-day lias said, the representatives of both sides arc a race of quasi-barristers who enjoy the game for the zeal of the chase, and men are encouraged to look for increased reward to contention rather than to production. Tho proposed change in the court’s constitution, one would think, would tend to remedy this, particularly if tho parties concerned would cease tp magnify the extent to which the interests of Capital and Labor arc severable and antagonistic, and would put in the forefront the fact that the conflicts which divide them are slight in comparison with the interests which they share in common. In addition to the delay which it is feared would be caused by contentions and obstinate assessors, the Employers’ Federation anticipates such grave interference with the continuity of work of the court that it will not he possible for the court, to got through anything like the amount of work it now does. What is sauce for the goose, is sauce for the gander. One of the ■provisions of tho new Bill is the encouragement of output, and it might he a bad example if, while stimulating the dominion's industrial output, the court greatly reduced its own. it is quite evident that the Employers’ Federation is convinced that any improvement in the quality of the awards would not compensate for the decrease in quantity. At one time there used to bo grave complaints of the delays due to congestion of the court's work', but latterly the court has nut allowed arrears to accumulate, and the system by : which despatch of business is secured is outlined by Mr Bishop. Undoubtedly it would not ho possible under the proposed changed constitution. But undoubtedly the most weighty objections to a- change arc the danger of lack of continuity of policy or uniformity in awards. Guo of the tests now applied by the court in framing awards is the wages of similar groups doing similar work in other industries. If is quite possible, even likely, that in some cases the onus put on tho court’s president in keeping different awards free from glaring anomalies would bo unfair, oven unbearable. And arising out of this there is the possibility of collusion of the arbitrators in u sheltered industry to “pass it on to tho public.” This has been vividly exemplified in tho industrial history of New Zealand, when big industries which have severed themselves from the court’s jurisdiction have settled their disputes by negotiation, free of control or supervision, and the result has been greatly increased charges for services to the public. Tho full extent of the possible disadvantages of a change in the court’s constitution has now been laid bare, and it is yet an open question whether they outweigh tho disadvantages of the existing system. But as the mouthpieces of both the employers and tho trade unions combine to protest against any cbntigc, it is probable that the Minister of Labor will not be very insistent on tbo retention of this one'of tho’three leading amendments comprised in his Bill.