16

L—9b.

.1. HAKPRK.

the Government, either the President of the Court or the Registrar or Conciliation Commissioner, with power to intervene and o pel a conference between the parties, with power to frame conditions of settlement if the parties were not amenable to reason. I would suggest, as to how ihey oould be compelled, that a clause be inserted providing a penalty something similar to what the shipowners, I think, recently offered to the waterside workers in the present dispute. which was turned down by them in the first instance and subsequently offered back to the employers ami turned down by them in the second instance. 1 have nothing further to add. 3. Mr. Davey.] Did I understand you to say that you thought that any of the gentlemen named should act as chairman of this Industrial Disputes Committee after the strike had lasted three days ! —Yes. 4. Then you said that if the conference could not come to a conclusion the chairman should frame conditions to end the strike? —Yes; that is, if they could not come to any agreement, o. Do you think that would lie acceptable to both parties —that one man should have power to insist upon it? —It is the only way out of the difficulty that I can see. 6. Mr. .1. Bollard.] Do you not think the Court would settle it better—the Court would be better than one man i -But then they are not under the Court. The law provides that they may either register or not. 7. Mr. Clark.] Supposing this conference was held and there was a disagreement, and the chairman made conditions to meet the difficulty: supposing the union or labour people declined to accept the conditions, what would happen? —The same thing would happen as has happened down the wharf now —there would be a new union formed. 8. So that it would not stop strikes?—As far as 1 can see it is the most efficacious way of stopping strikes. Ido not say it would stop strikes. 9. The Chairman.] I suppose you know that Mr. Halley did all he could to bring about a settlement of the present strike? —Yes. 10. Mr. Veitch.] You suggest that in the event of a strike there should be a compulsory conference, and that if as a result of that conference the disputants fail to agree the chairman of the conference would then decide what, in his opinion, was a fair basis of settlement. Do you think that a provision in the law that a secret ballot must be taken of all members of a union as to whether they will go back on those terms would get over the difficulty?— The same difficulty would apply. If the majority were against it the strike would go on all the same. 11. Do you think a secret ballot would give the members of the union an opportunity of expressing their real opinions on the subject? —Yes, it would make it more in touch with the views of the union and not the views of the delegates at the conference. 12. The Chairman.] Do you not think that the secret ballot that the union has got would be more likely to cause members to vote than under the present circumstances? —As far as I know the majority of the questions of any vital importance, as far as our union is concerned, at all events, are decided by ballot. 13. .1//-. Davey.] Clause 141 states, " If a settlement of the dispute is not arrived at as the result either of a conference of the parties or of the recommendations of a Labour Dispute Committee within fourteen days after the delivery of the notice to the Minister pursuant to section 138 hereof the Registrar shall, in the prescribed manner, forthwith conduct or cause to be conducted a secret ballot of all the workers affected " : would your union accept that clause that the Registrar should conduct a secret ballot?— Why not trust the union to conduct the secret ballot ? 14. Do you prefer the union to do it?— Most decidedly.

Friday, 28th November, 1913. William Prtor examined. (No. 7.) 1. The Chairman. j.What are you?—l am secretary of the New Zealand Employers' Association. 2. The Committee is only dealing with Part VI of the Bill?— Yes. With regard to that part of the Bill there were certain points in it that my federation intended to ask that alterations should be made in, but it has been decided, in order to assist the Committee, not to make any objections to Part VI, the reason being that the federation feels it is absolutely essential that legislation dealing with the strikes somewhat on the lines as appear in the Bill should be adopted, and adopted without delay. In order to assist legislation of that kind being put through this session it has been decided that I should say, on behalf of the New Zealand Employers' Federation, that we will accept that pait of the Bill as it stands, with clause 154." We direct the Committee's attention to clause 154 of the Bill, and we say it is absolutely essential that a clause of that kind should be included in Part Vl—that is, the clause relating to provision as to voluntary agreements and the registration of agreements entered into with organizations that are not registered under the Arbitration Act. Part VI is quite incomplete without something of that sort. You have all the other provisions dealing with strikes, but you have no finish to any settlement that might be arrived at, and it is essential that there should be. We would like one or two alterations with regard to clause 154: we are not accepting it just as it is drafted. First of all, in line 21, we ask that the word " may " should be altered to " shall." .It is permissible as that clause reads for any agreement like that to be filed, and we say that once an agreement is arrived at it must be made binding on both parties as far as possible, and there must be some tribunal to decide between the parties in the event of any difference during the currency of the agreement. 3. Mr. Davey.] What tribunal do you suggest?—lhe clause says that the tribunal shall be the Magistrate, with the right of appeal to the Arbitration Court,