PRESSURE OF WORK

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4808, 10 July 1939, Page 5

PRESSURE OF WORK

ARBITRATION COURT. CONFERENCE THIS WEEK. AVOIDANCE OF DELAY. 'lt is with the hope of evolving a more satisfactory method of dealing with industrial disputes in the future that I have called a conference of the Employers' Federation and the New Zealand Federation of Labour for next Thursday," said the Minister of Labour, the Hon. P. C. Webb, on Friday. The Minister said that since the Labour Party had taken office a tremendous increase had taken place in the number of registered unions of employers and employees and the Arbitration Court had found great difficulty in coping with the amount of work coming before it. The result was that considerable delay had been occasioned, causing much dissatisfaction to both sides. Unfortunately, Mr. Justice O'Regan had been taken ill, and this had aggravated the position. In the meantime Mr. Justice Callan had been temporarily appointed to the Arbitration Court, principally to deal with compensation cases. It was on account of the impediments and inconvenience that had occurred, the Minister added, that he had called the conference which would discuss the whole position.

TIME FOR OVERHAUL? TRADE UNION ATTITUDE. Recent decisions of the Arbitration Court have given rise to misgivings in certain trade union circles, and the suggestion is being made that the Court should be reconstituted. To cope with arrears of work a second Court of Arbitration functioned for a time but subsequently this Court went out of existence. The illness of Mr. Justice O'Regan at a time of extreme pressure of work has caused delay in the dispatch of business, but in the meatime a Judge of the Supreme Court is acting in a temporary capacity on the Arbitration Court Bench, although it is understood that he will deal mainly with compensation cases.

The appointment of a Stipendiary Magistrate to act as the duly authorised delegate of the Arbitration Court in certain cases was expected to ease the position, but some sections of workers claim that finality in these cases is delayed owing to the filing of appeals to the Arbitration Court from the Magistrate's decision. To expedite the work of the Court, it is stated that some sections of the industrial Labour movement would like to see the constitution of the Court altered. It is suggested that this could be achieved by appointing as President a man, not necessarily a lawyer, possessing first-hand knowledge of the problems confronting him in the making of awards. Compensation cases could be dealt with by a Judge as at present. With respect to the making of awards, unionists contend that each case should be dealt with on its merits and that less account should be taken of precedent and legalism.