COMPULSORY ARBITRATION

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19928, 23 April 1928, Page 13

COMPULSORY ARBITRATION

ATTITUDE OF LABOUR. CLASH OF UNION OPINIONS. fBY TELEGRAPH. PRESS ASSOCIATION.] WELLINGTON, Sunday. There is a clash of opinions in union Tanks in regard to the National Industrial Conference and the attitude of delegates toward the compulsory appeal to the Arbitration Court and other matters.

A Labour conference was called in Wellington to define a policy and, after discussion, a certain course was adopted and delegates appointed. It was generally expected in Labour circles that the papers delivered at the conference would present the views of the movement generally, but apparently a large section of workers has not concurred with the opinions expressed, particularly in respect to the statement by Mr. J. Roberts, secretary of the Federation of Labour, on the operation of tho Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act.

Yesterday representatives of the Engineers' Federation, Shop Assistants' Union, Furniture Trades' Federation, Tailors' Union and Bakers' Union made a statement that they were firmly of the opinion that fully 95 per cent, of the unions were not in favour of the repeal of the present Act. The Court's findings, it was stated, had been criticised, but the principle of compulsory arbitration had not been condemned, and there was no justification for the conclusion that the unions had declared against tho system. No Labour conference of a national character had ever carried a resolution to this effect.