CONCILIATORY SPIRIT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20137, 24 December 1928, Page 10

CONCILIATORY SPIRIT.

EMPLOYERS AND WORKERS.

AN IMPROVED RELATIONSHIP.

EXPERIENCES OF MR. P. HALLY

[BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] WELLINGTON, Sunday.

" The feeling between employer and worker is all that could ho desired. I have met both sections during tho past 25 years, hundreds of times, and they appear to vie to make an honest endeavour to meet each other in every way possible." This tribute to the conciliatory spirit that exists was made by Mr P. I-lally, district conciliation commissioner.

"Tho relationship between master and man has improved since the inception, in 1894, of the Industrial Conciliation d Arbitration Act," said Mr. llally. faking the last year as an example, i cannot recollect a single instance where a heated argument or a hasty threat has been used by an employer or worker during any Conciliation Council proceedings. Conferences have been held between the parties on a number of occasions to consider ways and means by which a trade could be improved." Mr. Hally mentioned in this connection that representatives of the employers and workers concerned in ono of tho largest manufacturing industries in the Dominion would meet in Wellington at their own expense in order to complete a scheme, the details of which had been under consideration for some time past. It was hoped that as a result of their combined effort the employers would secure a much larger turnover of business and the workers wculd receive an improvement on their piescnt earnings. During the past year nothing of an exceptional nature had been dealt with by tho different councils. In only one ustance bad tho disputo been of an original nature, the whole of the remaining cases having been brought forward in order to readjust wages or conditions of labour that had been in vogue during the preceding two years. There had been no general advance or increase in wages. In isolated cases an increase had been either agreed to by tho employers or awarded by tho Court, but, taken as a whole, neither hours nor wages had altered very much.

It was quite correct in some instances that employers had asked that increased hours bo worked and a reduction of wages agreed to. On the other hand, the workers, who were usually the applicants, without exception suggested an increase of wages, and in most cases a reduction of working hours. However, when the parties met in council it had become the usual custom to renew the terms substantially as existed in the previous award.

It was not correct to state that the work of the Conciliation Council or its commissioner had been hampered by Government regulations. A certain amount of formality was required and was necessary in oriler that an applicant party should file an industrial dispute in proper form. Further slight regulations were used to refer a dispute to Ihe Court of Arbitration. Apart from those rules a commissioner or members of a conciliation council had a free hand as to their methods of settling a dispute.