THE ARBITRATION ACT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13762, 29 May 1908, Page 6

THE ARBITRATION ACT.

' ~,,'n i' ' ■» "i i i.ii ii REVOLT OF THE WORKERS. [tIX TELEORAPff.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.] ' " Oniusrciir.Hi Thursday. At the" quarterly meeting of the interbury Employers* Afctoi&tton, the.. president, ; ; | 'jjakl that the Blackball strike revealed pionuinenlly several weak places in the -Vbi- . „ tration Act. "A ' serious matter," he contended, "is the.-arrival «>f 'he time, long expected by employer:!, when the wot Vers would refuse to accept the decision.* of the,: Court. Until the las" year they accepted them fairly wet), because them wank haw. I '}; generally been in their favour; but, tb? :: maximum rates which the Court, thirty) < justified having now been reached, ' Ui? ■ workers -ire revolting, and are patting tit<>' me that power which we hive long I'-u----!i«ed they pressed, of risking the p-y----mem of a small tine as a prem w for the added 'Wage for improved condition* which-,-they hope to obtain by mure forcible m*\ow?» -, A succession of strike* of ureater or k-erer degree- have established the fact that f.h<* workers regard the Act a* no longer com." ; pitlsory on them. On its present working the Act can no longer be legardcd a* oii« . of ftqmU justice. -'The working of the present Art. under , which a fine is the penalty, hit* proved con. elusively. that it is but a very small deterrent to breaking the law. The on* untried meatus of enfotcement is imprisonment. 1 think .1 .-bail be voicing the opinion of most employers when I fay that they would keenly regret any altvtatiou <4 the' law which would subject a mac. •■> imprisonment tor refuting to work undo-•inch ? conditions, or to accept pay lot hi.-- labour at a rate which he considers unfair to him even if the prim-ink of imprisonment was admitted. ' FARMERS' POINT OF VIEW. [BY TIXEUIUI'II. ~-i'Ri:.ss .ASSOCIATION. 1 CIiRfSTcHLRi M. Thursday, ' . At lite annual provincial conference of j fanners to-day. the president, Mi. [), Jones, dealt at length with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, and strongly urged /■ that it should be made equally enforceable on both employers and winkers. The farming industry should be free from harassing restrictions, he said. 'The delegate* spent a considerable amount of time discussing matters connected with the arbitration laws. The Oxford delegate moved, "That thin branch considers that as strikes are practically impossible on famw, the farming* industry should be exempt from the Arbi- , tration Act," The motion was carried with an alteration to the effect that it should be a i.v commendation from the conference urging the Government to exempt- the farming industry from the operation of the Act. The following motion was aha. carried "That if the Arbitration Act is to remain, in operation, no dispute should be brought before the Conciliation Board 01 Arbitration Court until the majority of workers • engaged in an industry vote in favour of it." ■■ . :■ ■■'"";.'- SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS. FROM LABOUR'S STANDPOINT. • At the annual meeting of delegates to the New Zealand Trades and Labour Council's Conference in Wellington in July tho following remits affecting the, Conciliation ' and Arbitration Act will be considered; That, Hie Induafilnt Conciliation ami Arbitration Act be amended by providing loi a mini- i nmni wage tout crgutiitillj; the bom* of f labour. The minimum wijf« shall not be lens ; ; than Is Ltd ■ per hour lor ill! male workers , ; : anil for 31! female woileers not leu* than S<l per- hour: Hip hour* of labour >liutl not !»•* -, more than 14 hour* per week, clfrlit hours en. : ' five day* in the week and four horn* on th«.: recognised half-holiday. '■ Clause 17, Suit-section 1.. Industrial Conciliation 7 ; and Arbitration Aft. 190-5. he amended in th»- '- tallowing llluniiO)•:--S«:-ikc ofil the whole audi insert in lieu thereof: "In the month of January of every year there shall be for- . ' warded' by every ■industrial union p. list cf officers and the'total number of members .'■:'>■ the mean at rise close of the. hist preceding lllOlltll." : ■-■■ The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Art :>: : be amended to provide: That where tiio iiecrt- o »ily occur* at: (lieehatging hands In any in-: duVtry under an award l.lie employect .may demand a ballot:, to decids which of their t number shall be dlectiiirgcd. .-', That in the opinion of this conference preference to unionist* shall b? compulsory, and mil at. the discretion of the Arbitration Court, *«, ; the capricious withholding of the. preference -y <laiiß<; from snelt. unions a* (he tramway*. ;; carters', and' other unions cause* the :V workers to loso faith In the adniinihltitlon of the Arbitration Act. That the Government be urged to amend the ■ ; constitution Of conciliation fioatda to provld*: (a) the election of one member by the in- ' dtistria! unions of workers and one member by the iiidtiKtrin] union ol employers, with * ciiainnan appointed by the two; (1>) t!i»t when ii dispute is, filed for hearing by the , board the union and the employers concerned . to appoint two representatives each to sit. with the other members of'the board and adjudicate on the dispute. ,' That, the words (and with the approval of tb*y Minister for Labour) be struck out i" the. fcßconil paragraph of subjection 8 of claw 5 ; of the Amendment Act, 1307. That the following words be added, to »ul)-sectJou 14 of. clause 5 (In the recommendation of the industrial union of worker* or association of; employers): "That new «üb-e)aur.c- IS he amended to give the right of appointment to the union or iiseociation. instead of-the, Governor."