COMPULSORY UNIONISM BALLOT

Wanganui Chronicle, 10 November 1950, Page 6

COMPULSORY UNIONISM BALLOT

Only Financial Members Of Union Permitted In Secret Vote

AVEIJJNGTON, Last Night (PA). —Only financial members of an industrial union of workers are to be perm if ted to take part in a secret ballot on 1 lie question of compulsory unionism. This is one of several amendments made Io the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Bill by the Labour Bills Committee, which reported the Bill back to the House of Representatives today.

The Hill, as originally drafleil. I merely provided for a vote of all union members. The committee has also amended the clause providing for exemption from union membership on religious grounds. The original Bill enabled the Registrar of Industrial Unions to exempt ay person from membership of a union on religious grounds without affecting his right to be employed, on condition that he proved that his objection was genuine and paid the amount of the union subscription to the Social Security Fund. The amendment stipulates that the registrar is to refer any such objection to t! conscientious objection committee appointed to hear applications for exemption on religious grounds from compulsory military training. If the committee considers the application is genuine, it will notify the registrar, and on payment of the amount of the union subscription the objector will be issued with a certificate of exemption from union membership for a specified period. The period of exemption may be extended by the registrar without reference to the committee. COURT INQUIRIES. Applications for the Court of Arbitration to hold inquiries into alleged irregularities in the conduct of union elections now have to be made by at least 10 financial members instead of by one, as provided in the

(original Bill. These applications are j to be lodged with the Registrar of Industrial Unions, but the latter will not refer them to the Court unless he had given the returning officer, or other | person who conducted the election, a i reasonable opportunity to show cause . why the application should not be | granted. In any such inquiries the court is to give the interested parties an opportunity to be heard. If a union fails to take a secret ballot on the question of compulsory unionism within two months, or such other time as the registrar considers reasonable after a requisition for one has been ; served, he (the registrar) shall him- [ self conduct the ballot. Mr McLagan (Opp., R’ccarton) said i the commit ice heard voluminous evlj dence from workers’ and employers’ I organisations. There were no fewer than 37 amendments to the Bill which I contained 31 clauses. I Mr Sheat (Govt., Patea): There were hardly any alterations at, all. The Minister of Labour (Mr Sullivan) said that the amendments wore nearly all consequential. Actually there were only two amendments of any consequence, and they were not proposed by Mr McLagan, but by Government members. There had been more amendments to a Bill introduced by Mr McLagan when he was a Minister. The report of the committee was I adopted.