THE FACTORIES BILL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CVI, Issue 12590, 27 August 1901, Page 4

THE FACTORIES BILL.

The in&crimdnating condemnation of the new Factories Bill and all its provisions hy certain classes of the community might lead an unsuspecting public to suppose that Air Seddon is introducing some entirely new and wholly tyrannical piece of legislation. The Bill in reality is rather oi. consolidating than an amending measure, differing but slightly in most respects from the Act of 1894, and the majority of the amendments are evidently introduced for the purpose of improving the administration. The builders and contractors whlo met on conference in Wellington yesterday will therefore have some difficulty in persuading Parliament to exempt their workshops from the provisions of the Bill. If they should be successful there would be no reason why a dozen other trades should not he accorded similar privileges, . Their protest against ■the clauses fixing overtime rates and the hours of work is more reasonable, seeing that the Arbitration Oouhfc has already fixed these conditions of work after am exhaustive investigation of the position. Parliament, we think, should deal very , carefully with these clauses, which are designed to override recommendations and awards of the Conciliation Boards and the Arbitration Court. We can conceive cases in' which it would be unjust to compel the payment of time-and-a-half rates for overtime, and possibly there are industries in which fortyfive hours would constitute less than a fair week’s work. We are not pleading the cause of any special trade, but Parliament has already invested the Labour tribunals with sufficient powers to fix the conditions of work in each trade, and we should be very careful not to weaken the Arbitration Court by overriding its awards. The Court is in a position to deal with' each industry cm its merits, and however desirable it may be to recognise the forty-five hours week by law it would be a mistake to deprive the labour tribunals of the right to exercise their discretion. There are other clauses of the Bill upon which there may be a Reasonable difference of opinion, but the measure as a whole, to quote the motion adopted by various labour unions, is as “necessary for the well-being of the workers and the industries of the -colony ” as are the measure® which it proposes to consolidate.