FL—ll.

Registration op Industrial Associations and Unions. Further advantage has been taken of the legislation passed in 1936 permitting the registration of unions covering the whole. Dominion, the whole of the North or South Island, or any group of two or more industrial districts. Up to the 30tli April. 1938, thirty-six organizations have been registered under these provisions (sixteen employers' and twenty workers" unions). In twenty-four cases (employers eleven, workers thirteen) registration covers the whole Dominion. The usual statutory return (to 31st December, 1937) of the associations and unions on the register, with membership as at that date, is appended hereto. Comparison with the previous year shows that employers unions have increased by 38 (from 201 to 239), with an additional total membership of 1,999 (from 6,442 to 8,441), while workers' unions have increased by 14 (from 487 to 501), with a total increase in membership of 47,459 (from 185,527 to 232,986). Although the increase in the number of workers' unions is only fourteen, actually fifty-two were registered during the year while thirty-eight were cancelled, all but three cancellations being due to the registration of unions covering two or more industrial districts, thereby absorbing the existing unions. Industrial Disturbances during the Year. There were sixty-three industrial disturbances during the year, as compared with forty-two last year. Of these disturbances, twenty were in connection with waterside work and sixteen were in the coal-mining industry. No case calls for particular comment, but it is interesting to note that onlv in thirteen cases did the matter in dispute relate to wages or hours of wotk. LABOUR DISPUTES INVESTIGATION ACT, 1913. During the year sixteen agreements were filed pursuant to section 8 (1), the agreement in each case being reached without recourse to a conference under the Act or to a Labour Disputes Committee. These agreements were as follows James State Coal-mines' employees. Liverpool State Coal-mines' employees. Westland State Coal-mines' engine-drivers. Auckland Electric-power Board's shift engineers. Auckland marine engineers. Gisborne Freezing Co.'s shift engineers. New Zealand Airways Co.'s engineers and attendants. Wellington oxygen and acetylene-gas workers. Canterbury oxygen and acetylene-gas workers. Union Steamship Co.'s steam-tug masters and engineers. Wellington and Taranaki cool-store workers. Southland cool-store workers. Otago Dairy Producers' cool-store workers. Wanganui Harbour Board's cool-store workers. Kauri Timber Co.'s tow-boat employees. New Zealand photo-engravers. Arising out of the disputes filed under the Act since its inception only nine ballots have been necessary, and in no case did a strike take place in pursuance of such a ballot. Seventeen agreements were in force on 31st March, 1938, in the following industries :— Cool-storage workers (4). Colliery employees (3). Electric-power Board employees (3). Engineers (airways) (1). Engineers (marine) (1). Oxygen and acetylene-gas workers (2). Photo-engravers (1). Tow-boat employees (1). Tug-masters and engineers (1). APPRENTICES ACT. This Act, which was passed in 1923, places the regulation of apprenticeships in the control of the Court of Arbitration. It also provides for the establishment of Committees representative of employers and workers ; these have such powers as may be delegated to them by the Court. The Committees, of which there are ninety-four functioning, are chiefly to be found in the main towns, and there is usually one for each industry. The Department has again made available to Committees the services of some of its experienced officers, who undertake inquiry work and in many cases act in a secretarial capacity. These officers made one hundred special inspections under this Act during 1937-38. In addition, inspections were carried out in the course of ordinary inspection and investigation work and while visiting factories, &c.., in connection with other duties. Complaints were received regarding 275 alleged breaches of the Act, while 270 other breaches were discovered by the Department's Inspectors, 315 warnings being issued.

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