ARBITRATION COURT.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXX, Issue 3784, 5 July 1899, Page 7

ARBITRATION COURT.

INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES. At the sitting of the Arbitration Court yesterday morning, Mr Justice Edwards, who presided, said the Court would deliver its judgments at 10.30 this morning in the eases of the tailors and bakers.

The Wellington Plumbers’ Association made an application for the enforcement of an award, a breach of widen was alleged to have been committed by Messrs George Remington and Rizzie, known as the Alexander Plumbing Company. Messrs Remington and Rizzio_dld not appear. Mr D. Barr appeared for the Plumbers’ Union, and said he believed the r'esx-iun dents had been served. He was entering into the details of the alleged breac-h of the award, when he was interrupted '• v Mr Justice Edwards, who said that if the union were not prepared to prove its case in a proper way it was useless going on. The Court’s business was to deal exclusively with legal proceedings,' and, the union ought to have a qualified legal lepresentative. If this were not done in the future, he would have to dismiss such applications summarily. Mr Barr requested an adjournment until tho afternoon, when he thought he would be able to go on with the case in proper order. His Honor replied that he could not grant the adjournment until then, but that he would give the parties ample time to'prepare by saying that the particu'ar application would not he taken , befoie Thursday. He, hoped the unions would take warning; and come properly prepared and represented in the future. Mr W. G. Tastin'; with Mr, W. Jon r nings appeared for the Master Painters in a dispute with the Wellington Amalgamated • Society of Painters and Decorators. / Mr J. R. Cole, who, with Mr Fish, appeared on behalf of the society, said the painters in Wellington did not get sufficient to live upon, and were eontinualiy in debt. If they did got a few weeks’, work, it only just enabled them to make up for lost time. A minimum wage of Is 4Jd per hour was asked for. Ho also said that .painters sometimes lost as much as three months in the year through wet weather. Messrs W. G. Tustin and W. Jennings, with the representatives of the Amalgamated Society, went through the long list of items in dispute. Witnesses were called by the employees to substantiate the disadvantages under which the painters and decorators of Wellington are labouring. „ Messrs Tustin and Jennings having replied at length, his Honor reserved his decision. . , f Messrs McKenzie and Mifchie, ■ representing the Wellington Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners, appeared, and made an application to the effect that those builders who had not signed the industrial agreement, under the award of the 21st February, 1898, should be called upon to show cause why they should not be bound by the award and sign the agreement.

After some discussion, the Court decided to consider whether the builders should be bound, and also whether costs should not be given against them.