PARLIAMENT

Wairarapa Daily Times, 15 March 1932, Page 5

PARLIAMENT

ARBITRATION BILE; Contrary to expectation no division was reached in the House of Representatives yesterday on the second reading of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Bill. """The Bill was subjected to a general condemnation by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr 11. E. Holland, and he was followed by the Minister of Public Works, Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, who incidentally mentioned that the Bill was favoured by the Government partly because it would enable the policy of readjustment to be carried out quicker than would be possible if a review wore undertaken by the Arbitration Court. A very thin House listened to the speeches in the evening, and throughojAthe! four hours’ sitting there was seldom more than half the fuil attendance of SO. Sometimes even fewer than half were, ip their places. Many had not returned from their homes aftei the week-end. ORDINARY SESSION. There is every likelihood that if the present session of Parliament runs into May, the ordinary session which is usually in June will be postponed until later in the year. At the present rate of progress it seems likely that the House will not get through the business awaiting its attention until the end of April at the earliest. PERSONAL COVENANT. It is understood that one of the most important provisions in the Government’s legislation to be brought down this sessiohAtO-.give relief to mortgagors will relate to the personal covenant in mortgages. The opinion is that, as tais legislation will be in tlie nature of a moratoalfcii, in that it will serve to. give direct relief during the present difficult period, some provision should be made regarding tlie : personal covenant which 5s causing considerable hardship, especially in rural areas. dismissal of workmen. The dismissal of a number of workmen at the Galatea Estate, near Bay •of Plenty, where developmental work lias been in progress for some time, was mentioned in an urgent question .addressed to the Minister of Public Works, Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, by Mr It. Semple (Lab., Wellington East), when the House met last evening. 'Mr Sempfe" drew attention to the fact that the families of-the mc-n eon■cerncd were in another pait of the island. He asked whether the Minister intended these families to remain isolated, and whether he would consider -paying the expenses of the dismissed -iJjb-to enable them to return to their or alternatively supply them with other employment. The Minister said it had already been announced that Public 'Woiks activities would have, to be curtailed on account of the cessation of hoiio.i.ng overseas. In this instance the men concerned had been constantly employed by the department for several years, and their services were being ■dispensed with owing to progress that had been kfllde at Galatea in loading and other work. Their families i\eie on the Gisborne-Waikokopu section of the East Coast railway, but he could wot see his way clear to pay. the trai oiling expenses of the men in order to •enable them to return home. LABOUR AMENDMENT. The Labour Party’s amendment to the second reading motion was subnnt- > -tod in House last night by Mr J. McCombs-' (Lab., Lyttelton), at the end of a speech in which lie traced Lie of the existing legislation and regarding its value. The text amendment is as follows: — ' , . , “Whereas the original legislation embodying the principle of legal settlement of industrial disputes took three and a half years to put on the Statute Book: “That whereas the originator of the Act, the Hon. W. Fember Reeves, insisted that the legislation would be worse than useless unless it provided for finality-in the settlement of disputes: . ' , ■ “That whereas the experience of the past 37. years has proved the soundness ofitfie originator’s central idea: “That whereas the Prime Minister. Purine the recent general election period gave a definite assurance that it v -as not .the intention of the Government to the Arbitration AM: “That whereas the proposed legislation will in fact destrov the very founds* of our arbitration ?v«*em -j,,r pWrbvM" eoipunlsoTv arbit.ra ion: “That whereas the interest of Lie

whole community, including empToveis and employees, can best be safeguarded and maintained by the legal establishment of some tribunal to give final decision in the event of disagreement between the parties: “The Bill be referred back to the Government with a recommendation that it be redrafted in order to preserve the essential features of New Zealand arbitration law, namely, the settlement of industrial disputes by compulsory arbitration where in the small percentage of industrial disputes settlement is not arrived at by agi cement or conciliation.” Mr A. Stuart (Govt., Rangitikei) said the wage-earners had been well treated during tlie period of prosperity; wages had been increased and all sorts of facilities were extended to them, but now the money was not in the country something had to be done to meet the situation. Under the Arbitration Act tlie good workman was dragged down to the level of the inferior worker. - The Arbitration Court was a protection for the man not prepared to do a fair day’s work.