49.
If the problems of accommodation and reorganisation could be
sufficiently inexpensively and satisfactorily that reform
might well be more effective than the present separate systems and
would almost certainly have lower running costs. I therefore recommend detailed consideration and costing.
:
The Labour Tribunal
50.
I make two recommendations about the Labour Tribunal which is
operating somewhere near its maximum capacity. The work of its judges
the Presiding Officers - is heavy and demanding. The time allowed
-
between entering a claim and setting it down for hearing is only 30 days. Informality is of the essence of the proceedings and this factor plus the size of the workload and the need for speed puts a different strain on the Presiding Officers than that endured by a judge taking
ordinary court business. The tempers of those before them often run
high and it is far from easy for a Presiding Officer to investigate the
issues and keep order at the same time. In order to do so he must read
the case papers the night before. They cannot normally be completed earlier because of the pressures on the Tribunal Officers whose task it
is to ascertain the facts from both parties and narrow the issues. The Tribunal Officers' role is a special one and their per capita caseload is probably as high as it could sensibly be. The administration should
as it has in recent years whether some relief is needed
and whether it is now desirable to appoint supervising Tribunal Officers to co-ordinate the general effort, take some of the more
difficult cases and advise the other Tribunal Officers. My other
recommendation is that favourable consideration be given to the temporary reassignment of Presiding Officers by way of relief for them.
consider
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51.
Like every busy court the Labour Tribunal has its problems but morale seems high amongst the Presiding Officers. liaving seen only
two of the Tribunal Officers I do not comment generally on the officers' morale but the two I saw were committed, articulate and professional.
There may be some slight tension between the Presiding
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