ARBITRATION AWARDS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 254, 23 September 1933, Page 2

ARBITRATION AWARDS.

GOOD FAITH ESSENTIAL. Per Press Association. AVELLINGTON, Sept. 23. A statement dealing with the position created by the ruling of the Arbitration Court, as reported from Auckland, that two awards were invalid in consequence of the Appeal Court decision regarding ceit.un classes, was made to-day by Air T. 0. Bishop, secretary of the Employers’ Federation. He thinks that an altogether wrong impression may be created. After saying that the awards were obtained by the unions entering into the industrial agreements privately with a number of employers whom they canvassed for signatures, afterwards applying to the Arbitration Court to have them converted into awards, and still later applying to have joined a number of employers, who were not parties to the making of the agreements, he said: “\A 7 hat I want to make clear is that, in my opinion, neither the latest decision of the Court of Arbitration or the decision of the Court of Appeal in the Hellaby case in any way endangers the existing awards obtained in the proper way.” He thought the statement that at least 80 per cent, of the existing awards and agreements were invalid was a great exaggeration, but, whether an exaggeration or not, he was convinced that the employers who were a party to such awards, as properly made in good faith, would observe them throughout their entire period. He added: “In the past some of our major industries have carried on for years at a time on agreements lion, ourably entered into, but which have not been made legally enforcable by registration in any way, and which, in some cases, have not even been signed. The foundation of the industrial system of New Zealand depends much more upon good faith and confidence between employers on the one hand and the workers on the other than upon legal enforcement.”