THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20906, 21 December 1929, Page 22

THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD

NEWS AND NOTES. By J. T, Paul. LABOUR LEGISLATION IN , QUEENSLAND. An important section in the Industrial Conciliation Act just passed in Queensland jreads as follows: “ Nothing in this Act applies to any State child within the meaning of the State Children Act of 1911 or to persons engaged in domestic service, or as gardener or handy man or yardman in privat** homes, or to persons engaged in a managerial office, or to persons employed in work such as is usually carried on Hi farming operations on dairy farms, fruit farms, or agricultural farms, or to casual workers such as. noxious weed destroyers, scrub cutters, ringbarkers, suckerers, or to jackcroos, book and store keepers on stations.”

A RECORD TO AUSTRALIAN WORKERS. It was stated in Sydney on Wednesday, November 27, that the workers on Sydney Harbour bridge had made a new record in the amount of structural steel work erected in one day. They had placed 578 tons in position on the bridge. The previous record was 380 tons, put Up bv workers erecting Heltgate bridge, New York. . The greatest amount previously placed in position on the Sydney bridge in any one day was 250 tons. Many of the millionaire American tourists from the steamer Malolo were interested spectators of the record day’s work on the bridge. STATE TRADING IN NEW SOUTH WALES. Tho supplementary feport of the Audi tor-general publishes the result of 12 months’ trading by various State undertakings. Walsh Island dock yards showed a trading profit of £85,077. The State brick yards made a net profit of £22,333, which is £4OB more than in the previous year. A net profit of £13,388 was shown by the State metal quarries. The loss for the year by the Murrumbidgee irrigation area was £284,358, bringing the accumulated, loss to £3,608,548. The capital expenditure to date on the .undertakings is stated at £0,242,050. '

WORK OF ARBITRATION COURT. The court has now been sitting in Auckland for a week (says “ InduatrialTramp in “Trade and Labour Notes" in ,Auckland Star), and, with the exception- of bearing the freezing workers’ dispute. Uas been occupied dealing with compensation cases. The list cannot be completed before Christmas, and the court is "durning to Auckland on February 10 (after the Tong vacation). On December 19 the court leaves for Wellington to hear several urgent cases before the holiday season commences. It will' be seen that the Court o£ Arbitration has not much idle time upon its hands, and, as one who has taken an active port in the work of the court from its inception, 1 cannot heln reflecting on the work of the court 20 years ago and now, and. comparing it with the Arbitration Courts of the Australian Commonwealth. There are live States in the Commonwealth, and each has its own Statp Court or Wages Board, with one Federal Court for the whole continent. Ihei l c are six courts for possibly a population of, say, 5,000,990. In the Dominion we have had one court from the inception of the Act in 1804. When our _ population was under 1,000,000 (continues the writer), the work of the court was put’through each year often with time to spare. Now, with 1,500,000 people, the court is at high pressure all the year round. Our Act provides that the court shall sit at each of the four chief centres once in each three months, or four times a year. This year the court has been in session as follows: At Dunedin, twice; Christchurch, twice; Wellington, twice, and Auckland,, two and a-half times, for the December sitting is only half finished. This is in addition! to the smaller centres being also visited.There are now regular sittings at Hamilton, whereas in the past most Hamilton cases wero heard in Auckland. The population is also increasing on the same ratio in the smaller towns as in the cities. This year the work of compensation cases has increased 120 per cent, on previous years. With the increase of the maximum sum payable for compensation from £750 to £IOOO, more cases of injury are worth the trouble than in former years, and it is becoming a serious problem how to cope with the work." ’ Two Arbitration Courts, one for each island, is unthinkable, because of overlapping decisions, but it _ may be considered advisable _to establish two courts, one for industrial disputes, and a separate one for compensation cases. It is worth considering, at any rate.

AN EARLY DISPUTE. Apropos of the work of the Arbitration Court in its early days (says “ Industrial Tramp "). I have before mo a copy of the Westport Times and Evening' Star, of September 15, 1806, which gives an almost verbatim account of the first dispute heard by the court on the West Coast; in fact, it may be claimed that it is the first heard by the court after its. inauguration. Mr Justice Williams 'Afterwards Sir Joshua Williams) presided, and "his associates were Mr H. Thompson (employers’ representative) and Mr Robert’Slater (workers’ representative). The Dcnniston Miners' Association was set down as applicant, while the respondent was the Westport Coal Company. It is interesting to note that the advocate for the miners was Mr. Joseph Hollows, who is now senior inspector of awards at Auckland, while the respondents were represented by its manager, Mr Jamieson. Column after, column is taken up with the evidence from both sides, given in question and answer form. The opening address of our old friend Mr Hollows must have been recorded in a previous issue, but Mr Jamieson’s opening is given in extenso. To us, in these days of reportorial brevity, it is very interesting, For instance: “Mr Jamieson opened the case for the company. He asked for the consideration of the court on two grounds: First, on account of the novelty and importance of the occasion, which was such that no one, however accustomed to and skilled in the conduct of judicial proceedings, could take a part therein without feelings of special responsibility, and, secondly, on account of the fact that, though it had fallen on his shoulders to undertake the task of representing one of the parties, he had neither the experience nor the training required to qualify him for the proper performance of it. History told of the care and assiduous study and practice required to attain forensic skill, and it was therefore no mere form of words when he, unpractised in such asked for the indulgence of the court. The Act under which they were proceeding had not attracted -as much attention as many other Acts of Parliament, and the coming into operation of the Act and the first sitting of the court were little known outside those immediately interested. Nevertheless this sitting of' the court, here in this remote town of the colony, may mark an era in the settlement of disputes between emplovers and employees. This is. as far as he knew, the first occasion on which it had been attcnipted to solve an industrial dispute hy judicial process in a manner similar, to that which disputes between party andpmfy are now settled by our courts in every day practice.” and so Mr Jamieson proceeds to lay down the, functions of the court in dealing with disputes of an industrial nature, until be came to the clause _ relating to a minimum wage in the miners claims. Then he delivered lumselt of an opinion that became for a time the sheet anchor of the employers, and even this year was delivered by Mr Agar in his presidential address at the annual meeting of the Dominion Emplayers' Association. He said: “He believed the only principle upon which a dispute between employer and workman could possibly be decided was that the rate of wages like the price of commodities is regulated by the law of supply and demand; that when the supply of labour is greater than the demand, wages must tall, when the supply and demand are equal, wages will remain steadv* and when the demand for labour is greater than the supply, wages must rise.” Needless to say that after over 30 vears’ experienced of settled wages and conditions under the awards of the court, this opinion is not universally shared bv employers to-day. One cannot help being struck with the modesty and difiidence displayed by the advocates in addressing the court in its earlier days, but such an attitude would not rut much icc before the court of to-day. but those of us who nave been through the mill, can appreciate the feeling given utterance to bv Mr Jamieson.