XN000022-1973-02-12 — Page 8

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Monday, February 12, 1973

MOST LABOUR DISPUTES SETTLED AMICABLY

With Help From Labour Department

The Labour Department's Labour Relations Service last year resolved

well over 70 per cent of the 4,500 disputes it handled, the Deputy Commissioner

of Labour, Mr. Ian Price, said today.

And by timely advice and the use of their good offices, its

representatives were able to prevent many more disputes from arising in the

first place, he added.

Mr. Price was speaking at the weekly meeting of the New Territories

Rotary Club.

He stressed that officers of the service had achieved their successes

of the past year not by arbitrating in disputes between employers and employees,

but by conciliation - by helping management and workers to bridge the gap

between their positions, and thus arrive at a friendly settlement.

Mr. Price said that despite the growth and success of the Labour

Relations Service, many people still did not seem to clearly understand ita

role in conciliation.

Employers and workers often expected the conciliator to support them

in whatever stand they took. The public and the press also often seemed to

think that the conciliator had the power of an arbitrator

to impose a ruling on the parties to the dispute.

-

that is the power

"The conciliator