The policy of the Ministry in relation to the settlement of industrial disputes by conciliation is governed by the general principle that the partics shall be encouraged to compose their difficulties by mutual effort or by the The Ministry does aid of any machinery which they themselves have created.
not normally intervene in a dispute unless requested by one of the parties and only then if it appears that available trade machinery has been exhausted or, in the absence of such machinery, that some effort has already been made
The activities of the between the parties to adjust their differences. Ministry in this connection are purposely unobtrusive and their object is to
The facilitate discussion and eventual agreement by the parties themselves. officers concerned with these activities endeavour at all times not to appear in any way as quasi-arbitrators.
It is obviously impossible to lay down any general rules of procedure in regard to conciliation. The action taken must be a matter of judgment and experience. A settlement may be obtained as the result of a simple discussion with the party making the approach, by separate discussions with both parties, by making arrangements for a joint meeting with or without the Conciliation Officer being prosent, or by a more or less formal conference under the Chairmanship of the Conciliation Officer. In any one case, it may be that all the various stages of separate discussion and joint conference are reached by degrees. The settlement of a dispute by conciliation may be complete in itself or pave the way to a final settlement by arbitration.
Resulting from the existence of a Department with accumulated knowledge and experience and able to act informally, there has developed a tendency to
Conciliation Officers seek advice at an early stage when difficulties occur.
are thus enabled to prevent many differences from becoming active disputes.
(e) Arbitration.
Both the Conciliation Act, 1896, and the Industrial Courts ict, 1919, contain clauses relating to arbitration. The machinery provided by the former Act however, is somewhat restricted and has been superseded to a large extent by that provided by the later Act, which permits of a varied procedure as suited to the circumstances of the particular issues involved in any case and acceptable to the parties concerned.
The powers of the Minister of Labour in regard to arbitration are as follows:
Under the Conciliation Act, 1896 (Section 2(1)(a)), the Minister may, on the application of both parties to a difference, appoint an arbitrator.
Under the Industrial Courts Act, 1919 (Section 2(2)), the Minister may, both parties consent, refer an existing or apprehended dispute for settlement to:-
(i) the Industrial Court;
(ii) the arbitration of one or more persons appointed by him;
(iii) a board of arbitration,
if
provided that (Section 2(4)) there has been a failure to obtain a settlement by means of any agreed arrangements that exist in the trade or industry concerned for settlement by arbitration or conciliation.
The three types of machinery thus provided, together with the permanent board of arbitration the Civil Service Arbitration Tribunal which has been set up under the Act for dealing with Civil Service cases, are described below.
(i) The Industrial Court.
One of the principal features of the Industrial Courts Act, 1919, is the establishment of a standing arbitration tribunal known as the Industrail Court. The Court is not a part of the judicial system of Great Britain but is constituted solely for the purpose of settling trade disputes.
12.
A trade dispute"
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