ARBITRATION COURT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20490, 15 February 1930, Page 12

ARBITRATION COURT.

FUNCTIONS DEFINED.

HOW WAGES ARE FIXED.

" COUNTRY SOUND AT BOTTOM."

NO GROUND FOR PESSIMISM.

"Tho Arbitration Court may be considered the keeper of New Zealand s industrial conscience in respect of wages and conditions," said Mr. Justice Frazer, in the Arbitration Court yesterday, in a statement regarding the Court's conception of the principles upon which it should work. His Honor's remarks were made subsequent to the hearing of a dispute regarding a request for a separate award for a section of workers employed as hardware assistants by several wholesale ironmongery firms. Ho informed the parties engaged in the dispute that tho proceedings indicated that there was apparently some little doubt as to the principles of the Court. His Honor said that the Court was empowered to fix minimum rates of wages for employees. These rates, it was considered, should bo paid to those who were just efficient and just competent but no more so. It was left to the employers to fix such higher rates as they thought fit for employees of greater ability and industry. In New Zealand the Court worked on somewhat different principles from the Courts in Australia. In Australia it seemed that the minimum was treated as the maximum. Australian Judges had informed him that the unions produced evidence of higher rates being paid and sought to use it for the purpose of raising the award rates of wages. Some years ago NW Zealand unions held the opinion now held in Australia—that the fact that higher rates were paid by some employers was a reason for advancing wages. Fixing Minimum Wage.

"Some years ago I was in bad odour among some of the unions for not seeing things in, this light," His Honor continued. "It is now being generally recognised, however, that the minimum is a true minimum in New Zealand and that the better men rightly obtain more. However, we all recognise that there is a tendency in times of trade depression to come down to the minimum wage." In ■certain trades there was room for the display of initiative in industry and of ability above the average, and the Court was glad to know that nowadays that ability was generally rewarded.

The Court had fixed more or less stereotyped minimum rates of wages for different classes of work, although there might be slight variations between awards. Generally, awards were based on the principle that an adult worker should not obtain less than Is lOd an hour. The Court had its scales which had been worked out more or less scientifically, Having regard to the cost of living and the economic condition of the country and the particular industry concerned.

Industrial Outlook. "We recognise that trade is slack just now," said Mr. Justice Frazer. "It has happened before and we have survived the depression. It will happen again and we will again survive it. The country is sound at bottom." At present New Zealand was getting some of the "backwash" from Australia. In present days international finance and commerce were inextricably bound up and it was inevitable that New Zealand should be affected by conditions in Australia and elsewhere. There was no necessity to be unduly pessimistic.

The principles of the Arbitration Court had often been criticised by some people who did not understand them fully. In fixing standards the Court had regard to the possibility of times of depression. It fixed rates which, while being fair to the workers, would not be unduly oppressive to the employer, but which would not be so high as to prevent him from paying more to those employees who were deserving of more, or, if trade were especially good, to all his employees. Those general standards had been accepted as reasonable by the community as a whole. To that extent the Court regarded itself as the keeper of the industrial conscience of the Dominion.