I.C. AND A. ACT

Southland Times, Issue 21649, 10 March 1932, Page 8

I.C. AND A. ACT

“BILL ON WRONG LINES” OPINION OF MR W. F. ROWLEY ’ SUSPENSION OF AWARDS ✓ (Per United Press Association.) ' Wellington, March 9. Mr W. F. Rowley, 1.5.0., who for 40 years was connected with the Labour Department and for many years was its chief administrative .officer, but who is now retired, has written an open letter to the Prime Minister on the subject of the amendment to the Industrial, Conciliation and Arbitration Act before Parliament. He claims that his long experience of the working of the Act entitles him to express an opinion. The Act, in his view, requires amendment, particularly in the interests of the farming and exporting community, but the present Bill is drafted on the wrong lines and will do riiore harm than good and will cause a grave injustice to a large body of workers who have quietly and loyally supported this peaceful method of settling conditions of employment. He contends that the real conflict which led up to the present industrial conditions has lain, not so much between employers and employed as between the sheltered and unsheltered industries and he suggests as a remedy that, instead of wage rates being fixed “according to an artificial cost of living standard,’’ they should be based on the state of trade from time to time. He adds that, for this purpose, the constitution of the Arbitration Court should be altered by the addition of a representative of the public whose special duty it would be to bring the state of trade before the court. He points out that in the past the .lay members of the court have been the representatives of sheltered industries and those engaged in the great exporting industry on which the prosperity of the whole Dominion depends have not. had a voice in selecting these representatives. Mr Rowley contends that what is called “compulsory conciliation and optional arbitration” must result in a reversion to the old barbarous system of strikes and lockouts and that these weapons would be most readily seized by those engaged in the handling of exports. We woukl thus witness a return to the age of force instead of reason. For immediate purposes to meet the existing depression Mr Rowley considers that all that is required is a temporary measure giving power to reduce all award rates on account of the fall in world prices and even, if necessary, to suspend any of the awards for a certain period. OPINION OF BUILDERS PRESENT SYSTEM FAVOURED. Christchurch, March 9. At a meeting of the Canterbury Builders’ Association, the president, Mr R. C. Jamieson, said that there was a general feeling among employers that they did not wish to depart from the present system of arbitration. Mr W. 11. Winsor, secretary, said that some system "of arbitration or some final arbitration was essential, otherwise it would lead to protracted conciliation, one party trying to wear .he other down.