LEGISLATIVE REMEDY

Taranaki Daily News, 5 August 1937, Page 9

LEGISLATIVE REMEDY

By Telegraph—Press Association.

CONFUSION AMONG UNIONS ! . ruling by the appeal court meaning of word industry, same position in australia.

Wellington, Aug. 4. . The acting-Minister of Labour, the Hon. P. Webb, says that the attention of the Government has been drawn to the rCcent decision of the Court of Appeal in regard td the meaning of the word "industry" as defined by the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, 1925. Under the court's decision this is held to mean the industry in which both the employer and his workers are engaged. For over 30 years the Court of Arbitration had adopted the view that "industry" might refer either to the business in which . the employer and his workers were engaged or to the .occupation of the Workers, irrespective of the nature of their employer's business. It would be seen therefore that the decision of the Court of Appeal would have very farreaching effects and the Government had had to consider what legislative action, if any, it proposed to take to meet the position. Australian Legislation. A similar question arose in the Commonwealth of Australia in 1911, the saxne interpretation being placed .on the word "industry" in the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act * as had been done by the Court of Appeal in New Zealand. As avresult the Commonwealth Legislature passed an amendment to the Act to.make it clear that the term "industry" could refer also to the occupations of the workers, irrespective of the class of business carried on by the then employers, and this legislation was made applicable to all organisations affected by the decision as if the definition of "industry" had been in force at the date of registration of such organisation. Apart from the question which was the more durable form of organisation it was clear that a considerable amount of confusion would result from the decision of the Court of Appeal, not only so far as clerical unions were concerned but also among. long-established imions in other callings, and the Government felt that the proper course to adopt was to introduce legislation along !the same lines as . was done in the Commonwealth of Australia.- .