LEGISLATION BLOCKED

Taranaki Daily News, 20 November 1930, Page 9

LEGISLATION BLOCKED

EXPLANATION BY MINISTER. MISREPRESENTATION ALLEGED. In the course of his address at New Plymouth last night the Hon. S. G. Smith, Minister of Labour, remarked that he had during the session piloted six Bills'through the House, including the Rent Restriction Bill, Unemployment Bill, Apprentices Amendment Bill, Industrial, Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Bill-and Workers’ Compensation Amendment Bill. The industrial, Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Bill was to give simple justice to the Trades Unions. It merely contained a provision empowering the Court of Arbitration to issue awards containing provisions agreed to by employers and workers. As a matter of fact many such awards had been issued but an appeal case disclosed that the Court did not possess the power which it thought it had and which it had exercised.

The Bill was blocked, said Mr, Smith, as the result of the gross misrepresentation that had taken place and in his opinion the Farmers’ Union fell into the trap that was laid for it. It whs led to believe that the Bill if parsed woiild have resulted in farm workers being brought under an award, thereby subjecting the farmer to all sorts of hampering conditions' and restrictions with regard to labour. There never was a more ridiculous statement as it was the law to-day and had been for years that any body of workers could ask for an award. The Dominion executive of the Farm-, ers’ Union had claimed credit for blocking tho Workers’ Compensation Amendment which, it stated,, would have resulted in an increase of 131 per cent, on ’ the premiums paid by the farmer. The gullibility of some people was immense because as a matter of fact the premium, which was £1 per £lOO, woiild have been increased to £1 7s. per cent, had the Bill been .passed,-but the benefits had been greatly widened. It provided that sharemilkers should 'be covered and that in the event of accident io a worker the doctor and hospital fees up to £25 would be paid. In the New Plymouth hospital district alone the (hospital board had lost £llOO from that -cause in one year and the Hawera board £l2OO. They could therefore see how great the aggregate for the Dominion wx>uld be. By paying an increased premium of 7s per cent, on the wages a farmer would effect a saving in hospital .rate. .. . . The Bill was not blocked by any organisation, It was not proceeded with by him as Minister of Labour because the Government realised that owing to the -present economic condition of the country the time was. not .opportune to do anything that was likely to prove a burden on industry-and that the benefits; t-o be derived from, the Act; could wait a while.