NOT STRANGLED

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 3 September 1924, Page 5

NOT STRANGLED

ARBITRATION SYSTEM FLOURISHING.

ASSESSORS’ JOY RIDES STOPPED

' (By Telegraph—Special to Star.) WELLINGTON, Sept. 2. Many ’interesting questions affecting labour were raised when the annual report of the Labour Department was tabled in the House to-day. The Hon. G. J. Anderson, Minister for Labour, gave a good deal of information in reply to the discussion. He showed that the Conciliation Councils are doing good work, 92 xier cent of the disputes being settled through this medium, except for points such as wages, leaving only eight per cent for the Arbitration Court’s attention. There was a growing tendency towards national awards, the largest case of the kind being the watersiders, now under consideration. He understood the Conciliation Council had settled all minor points, leaving a few for the eoixrt’s decision. Thus it could not be said that the Government was strangling the Arbitration Act. On the contrary, it was in a firmer position than it had been, for many years. What the Minister called the joy riding of some Conciliation ‘ Council members was referred to as a result of criticism. The council, he said, must now be composed of persons selected from the district where the dispute exists. Mr Anderson justified this regulation by stating he was sorry that some conciliation commissions were not treating the position as it should be. Assessors were having joy rides around New Zealand, and his regulation was based on the assumption that if a dispute arose in Auckland there were men in that district just as capable of dealing with it as those who were brought from Dunedin or Invercargill. A recent case where the dispute was national resulted in the assessors travelling throughout New Zealand, and he was looking into the matter. He denied that the department was backward in instituting prosecutions for breaches of awards. A circular to trade unions regarding the system of keeping accounts had nothing to do with the method of spending their funds. He did not interfere with the disbursements, but unfortunately there had been a number of cases of embezzlement of unipn funds, though this offence was not more frequent among unions than anywhere else. He secured the advice of skilled accountants on the question of the best method of bookkeeping so as to protect the average trade unionist and let him know how his dues were being spent. He could quote cases where accountants had had the utmost difficulty in seeing where money had gone, and one case where it was impossible to find out the state of the union’s accounts. 1 “I have considered uiiemployment insurance in connection with the general question of pensions and accident insurance,” continued Mr Anderson, “and I cannot see that unemployment insurance is necessary in a country like New Zealand. This is also the opinion of experts I have consulted.”

Mr Hanan: Will you deal with sickness?

Mr Anderson: “If we deal with sickness it would be from a general contributory scheme, which I hope to he able to deal with more fully in a week or two when I introduce the Bill now in the law draftsman’s hands.”