ARBITRATION ACT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17040, 23 December 1918, Page 8

ARBITRATION ACT.

QUESTION OF A CHANGE.

EMPLOYERS' OPINION

"While there have not been any outstanding labour troubles, there has been evidence of a movement to break down the system of conciliation and arbitration at present in operation in New Zealaud," stttlen the, annual report of the council of the New Zealand Employers' Federation, presented to the annual con. ference in Wellington, "This movement was promoted by the more militant 6ec tion of organised Labour, and has been supported latterly by » number of what are termed arbitration unions. The Arbitration Court was established contrary to the wishes of employers, and, in their opinion, has consistently strained its powere to enable it to grant every concession to workers it legitimately could. It is necessary, however, for both employers and workers to give some consideration to what it is proposed should take its place before deciding to abandon it altogether. "The position employers at present I find themselves in, is that they are i bound by the. provisions of industrial I : agreements and awards while the work- \ their representatives — them and are only bound by them so long as it suits their purpose. This is amply demonstrated in the case of the seamen, coal miners, and Wellington tramway men, all of whom were parties to recently-made agreements or awards which they repudiated as soon as they found It convenient to *do eo. The authorities, took action against the officials of the Seamen's Union, but did not do so in the case of the mind's, nor is there any indication of proceedings being taken against tho Wellington tramway men for their undoubted breaches of both the industrial agreement and the Indus, trial Conciliation and Arbitration Act. " Employers are of the opinion that in such cases prompt action should be taken to ensure a due observance of the industrial laws of the Dominion, and that agreements or awards should be equally binding on both .sides, It is conceded that so long as there are industrial laws of the nature of those at present in force in New Zealand, there must bo some independent judicial tribunal whoso decisions shall be final and.binding on both parties. The only definite reconstructive proposals yet suggested are of such a nature that they cannot for a moment be considered. At the Labour Conference in Wellington in July last, proposals were adopted having for their main objects the formation of one big union and the right, not only to strike, but to call all workers out on strike for even the moat trivial reasons. The resolutions of that conference, were mostly of the advanced I.W.W. type, which, if adopted, would replace a certain measure of law and order by industrial disruption &nd anarchy That being the ca»e, it is essential that employers, and the more reasonable section of Labour at any rate, should carefully consider what is likely to take the place of our present industrial laws on *>e Statute Books before definitely deciding that a change is advisable."