The Resolution relates solely to Government contracts, but the principle it embodies has been commonly applied to contracts involving the expenditure of public money or other consideration granted by a Department, or which require the approval of a Department. The principle has also been embodied in a number of Acts providing assistance to in ustries or public authorities by way of grant, loan, subsidy or guarantee. Contracts entered into by Local Authorities almost invariably contain a Fair Wages Clause operating with similar effect.
IX. COMPULSORY ARBITRATION.
The system of conciliation and arbitration at presont in force in this country may be said to be dominated by two outstanding principles, the first being that the methods adopted for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes must be essentially voluntary, and the second, that adequate organisa- tion of both employers and workers is desirable. With the exception of certain limited fields in which special legislation applies, the efforts of successive Governments have been directed towards fostering the voluntary organisation of both parties and the creation by the parties themselves of voluntary joint machinery for dealing with their own complex and constantly changing industrial problems.
The result of these efforts is that at present there is hardly any important branch of industry which has not created its own machinery for dealing with its problems and statutory procedure is resorted to only in the last instance and then only with the mutual consent of the parties concerned. Experience has shown that this combination of voluntary joint machinery with a limited measure of statutory regulation in special circumstances tends to ensure industrial peace to the greatest possible extent.
The question of compulsery arbitration has, however, been considered by a number of important Government commissions and committees and by other non-official bodies. A summary of the findings of some of these bodies, together with an outline of the various war-time measures involving compulsory arbitration, is given in the following paragraphs.
The Royal Commission on Labour appointed in 1891 to enquire into varicus questions affecting industrial relations had before it a statement of the then existent statute law as to arbitration in trade disputes which gave compulsory powers of settling certain disputes on the application of either party and made Awards of tribunals enforceable by distress or imprisonment.
The conclusions of the Commission were that this machinery, in spite of
seemed the frequent desire expressed in favour of enforceable arbitration, seldom to have been put in motion and that, in fact very few people appeared to be aware of the existence of the laws, possibly (among other reasons) because employers and employed preferred to settle their differences themselves without the aid of extraneous authority.
In its Recommendations the Commission state:-
"In the case of the larger and more serious disputes
we have had to consider, in the first place, suggestions for the compulsory reference of such disputes to State, or other boards of arbitration, whose awards should be legally enforceable. No such proposal, however, appeared to us to be definite or practical enough to bear serious consideration."
The Recommendations continued:-
"We hope and believe that the present rapid extension of voluntary concilia- tion boards will continue
But, at
the present stage of progress, we are of opinion that it would do more harm than good either to invest voluntary boards with legal powers, or to establish rivals to them in the shape of other boards founded on a statutory basis, and having a more or less public and official character.
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