RIGHTS OF PUBLIC BODIES.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13748, 10 September 1908, Page 5

RIGHTS OF PUBLIC BODIES.

SHOULD THEY BE EXEMPT FROM AWARDS? WELLINGTON, Sept. 9. . At the Arbitration Court Mr W. Pryor, secretary of the Employers' Association, applied for the exemption of public bodies employing general labourers from industrial awards. He urged that they were really Crovernment bodies, and had no business in the ordinary sense of the word, and moreover were influenced by elections in a way that prejudiced ordinary employers and led them to grant ridiculous rates. On the other hand, they sometimes, in periods of distress, found temporary work for unemployed, and tliey- could not do this if bound by an award. Judge Sim said he could not decide such a question off hand; any change would require careful consideration. In the meantime, local bodies would have to be parties to the labourers' award.