CLERICAL UNION STATUS

Evening Star, Issue 22719, 5 August 1937, Page 10

CLERICAL UNION STATUS

" MORE THAN PURELY NOMINAL " SEPARATE AWARDS POSSIBLE A paragraph in the ‘ Evening Star s ’ leader under the heading of ‘ A Startling Decision ’ in Tuesday night’s issue stating that “ it follows that though a further claim by the plaintiffs in the quashing of the registration of the Otago Clerical Workers’ Union has apparently not been granted and that body will contnue as a union, its existence as a union will be mainly nominal with no power to obtain awards,” was commented on by Mr R. Herbert, the union’s secretary, to-day. “ According to the judgments of Mr Justice Ostler, Mr, Justice Kennedy, and Mr Justice Cailan, which I now have before me, the corporate _ status of the Otago Clerical Union is unaffected. and it continues as an industrial union for all purposes of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act,” he said. “ The present clerical award, however, will he quashed under direction from the Appeal Court, on the grounds that a proper industrial dispute within the meaning of the Act had not been created. The union, however, is advised by its solicitors that it will be competent for the Court. of Arbitration, even under the present legislation, to make separate awards for clerical workers in separate industries or groups of related industries to which the present Clerical Union would be the employee party. Any awards or agreements made between the union on the one hand and an employer or industrial groups of employers on,the other could, we are advised, be validly made. “ Accordingly, it is anticipated that the future existence of the union will be ranch more than purely nominal, and that it will continue to have full powers to negotiate awards of the kind above referred to, even if no amendment to the legislation is made. It would, however, he most desirable for the amendment to be made in order to prevent a multiplicity of awards.”