average prices or rates of payment (whether piecework prices or rates of wages prices or rates) paid by reputable employers to employees of average capacity." As in Victoria and some of the other States, the form of reference to "reputable employers" was considered objectionable by employees as it limited the wages to be fixed to those paid at the time. The objectionable provision was repealed in the act of September 14, 1911 (wages board act, 1911). The basis now prescribed in the law for fixing minimum wage is shown in the following quotation from the act of 1911:

SEC. 22. (1) The board, for the purpose of determining the lowest prices or rates of payment which may be paid, shall take such evidence as it deems sufficient, and shall take into consideration

(a) The nature, kind, and class of the work;

(b) The mode and manner in which the work is to be done;

(c) The age and sex of the workers, and in addition, as regards apprentices and improvers, their experience at the trade; and

(d) Any matter whatsoever which may from time to time be prescribed.

(2) The board shall ascertain what prices or rates are fair and reasonable as the lowest prices or rates to be paid, taking into consideration the evidence and the matters and things mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, and shall make their determination accordingly; and the board (if it thinks fit) may fix different prices or rates accordingly.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

In Western Australia an abortive industrial conciliation and arbitration act was passed December 5, 1900, and as amended February 19, 1902, became operative in that year. The act of 1902 was modeled on that of New Zealand, including an arbitration court of three members and district conciliation boards.

The present act, which is a consolidation of previously existing laws, is the industrial arbitration act of 1912, enacted December 21, 1912.

The act provides for a court of arbitration, appointed by the governor, one member to be appointed on the recommendation of the industrial unions of employers and one on the recommendation of the industrial unions of employees, the third member, who acts as president, to be a judge of the supreme court. The powers of the court are very broad, extending practically to any industrial matter.

In fixing the minimum wage in its award, the living wage is the standard, the law providing that "no minimum rate of wages or other remuneration shall be prescribed which is not sufficient to enable the average worker to whom it applies to live in reasonable comfort, having regard to any domestic obligations to which such average worker would be ordinarily subject."

At the end of April, 1914, it was reported that 18 awards were in force. In addition, there were 93 industrial agreements, which under the law have the force and effect of awards. The membership of registered industrial unions was reported as 30,000.

The first of all the laws providing a means for fixing the legal minimum wage was the New Zealand Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act of 1894, enacted August 31, 1894, and in force January 1, 1895. The New Zealand act was primarily a compulsory arbitration act for the prevention and settlement of strikes and lockouts. The authority conferred upon the arbitration court to fix conditions of employment included fixing the minimum rates of wages to be paid in the cases coming before it.

The New Zealand law has been many times amended,1 but has remained from the beginning primarily an act for the settlement of disputes and the fixing of wages by an arbitration court. In 1908 councils of conciliation were introduced, with functions and methods somewhat similar to those of the wages boards, and disputes were required to be heard by the conciliation tribunal before they could be referred to the court of arbitration. Thus under the present law a large proportion of the disputes are settled by the councils of conciliation. The number of awards and agreements actually in force March 31, 1914, was 445. During the period since the act came into force the number of factories has increased from 4,109 in 1894-95, to 13,469 in 1913-14. The number of factory workers had increased within the same period from 29,879 to 87,517, an increase in number of employees having been recorded each year except two.2

New Zealand, like most of the Australian States, has also an act fixing a minimum wage below which no person may be employed. This law was first enacted October 21, 1899, and is now embodied in the factories act, 1908. This law fixes the minimum wage at 5s. ($1.22) a week for the first year of employment in the trade, 8s. ($1.95) a week for the second year, with additions of 3s. (73 cents) a week for each year of employment in the same trade until a wage of 20s. ($4.87) is reached. The purpose of this provision of law was to prevent the employment of children and apprentices without any wage or at a premium, as was often done under the pretense of teaching the trade.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF INDUSTRIAL ARBITRATION ACT.

The main provisions of the New Zealand law may be summarized as follows:3

Industrial Districts.

Under the regulations of the act the Dominion of New Zealand is divided into eight industrial districts.

1 The later acts are: Oct. 18, 1895; Oct. 17, 1896; Nov. 5, 1898; Oct. 20, 1900 (consolidation act); Nov. 7, 1901; Sept. 24, 1903; Nov. 20, 1903; Nov. 8, 1904; Oct. 27, 1905 (consolidation act); Oct. 31, 1905; Oct. 29, 1906; Aug. 4, 1908 (consolidation act); Oct. 10, 1908; Dec. 3, 1910; Oct. 28, 1911; Oct. 3, 1913. The text of the law as existing early in 1900 was printed in Bulletin of the Bureau of Labor, No. 33, pp. 207 et seq. The text of the law as existing early in 1903 was printed in Bulletin of the Bureau of Labor, No. 49, pp. 1282 et seq. Twenty-third Annual Report of the New Zealand Department of Labour, 1914, p. 7. New Zealand Official Year Book, 1914. Wellington, 1913, pp. 661-665.

Registration of Industrial Unions and Associations.

Any society consisting of not fewer than three persons in the case of employers or fifteen in the case of workers in any specified industry or industries in an industrial district may be registered as an "industrial union" on compliance with the requirements for registration. Any incorporated company may also be registered as an industrial union of employers. Any two or more industrial unions of either employers or workers in any industries may form an “industrial association," and register the same under the act. trial associations are usually formed for the whole or greater part of New Zealand, comprising the unions registered in the various industrial districts.

Such registration enables any union or association—

(1) To enter into and file an industrial agreement specifying the conditions of employment agreed upon. This agreement (which is binding only on the parties to it), although required by the act to be limited to a period of not more than three years, remains in force until superseded by another agreement or an award of the court of arbitration, except where the registration of the union of workers concerned is canceled.

(2) In the event of failure to arrive at an industrial agreement, to bring an industrial dispute before a council of conciliation set up for the purpose, and, if necessary, before the court of arbitration.

It should be noted that while employers may individually be cited by a workers' union or association, workers can be cited by employers only when such workers are voluntarily registered under the act as an industrial union or association of workers.

The constitution of councils of conciliation and of the court of arbitration is explained later on in this section. A council of conciliation has no compulsory powers; it merely endeavors to bring about a settlement. If a settlement is effected it may be filed as an "industrial agreement." In most cases, however, it has been found that on arriving at a settlement through the council of conciliation the parties prefer to have the agreement made into an award of the court of arbitration, and in such cases the dispute is formally passed on to the court for that purpose.

If the members of the council agree upon a unanimous recommendation, but do not get an "industrial agreement" signed by all the parties, the recommendation is now (vide the 1911 and 1913 amendments) filed for one month, and if no party disagrees with the same within that time the recommendation becomes automatically binding on the parties.

If a complete settlement is not arrived at, the council is required by the act to refer the dispute to the court of arbitration, which, after hearing the parties, may make an award, and any items of the dispute that have been agreed upon before the council may be embodied by the court into its award without any further reference. Such an award is, like an industrial agreement, binding on all the parties cited, and is also binding on any other employers subsequently commencing business in the same trade in the district. Unless the district is further limited by the court in the award, the award applies to the industrial district in which it is made. Pending the sitting of the court of arbitration to hear the dispute, it is the duty of the council to endeavor to bring about some provisional agreement.

Awards are also required by the act to be limited to a period of not more than three years, but, nevertheless, remain in force until superseded either by another award or by a subsequent agreement, except where the registration of the union of workers has been canceled.

Under the act in force from 1901 to 1908 power was given to any of the parties to a dispute, when once filed for hearing by the board of conciliation appointed under that act to hear all disputes in the district, to refer the same to the court of arbitration direct without waiting for a hearing by the board. This provision was repealed in 1908, when all disputes were again required to be heard by the conciliation tribunal before being referred to the court of arbitration. In 1911, however, a clause was inserted to enable an industrial association, party to a dispute extending over more than one industrial district (and therefore beyond the jurisdiction of a conciliation council), to apply direct to the court of arbitration for the hearing of the dispute.

Registration also enables a union or association to cite before a magistrate any party committing a breach of an award or industrial agreement. Parties generally prefer, however, to hand over any such cases to the labor department to cite or otherwise dispose of as it thinks fit.

Under the act individual employers have the same powers as unions or associations of citing other parties, although they seldom exercise those powers.

Constitution of Conciliation Councils.

The act provides for the appointment of not more than four conciliation commissioners to hold office for three years; three have been appointed and each of the eight industrial districts is placed under the jurisdiction of one of them.

When a dispute arises the union, association, or employer desiring to have the same heard makes application to the commissioner in the form provided, stating the nature of the dispute, and the names of the respondents, and recommending, at its option, one, two, or three assessors to act as representatives on the council to be set up. On receipt of the application the commissioner notifies the respondents and calls upon them to similarly recommend an equal number of assessors to represent them. The assessors must, except in special cases at the discretion of the commissioner, have been engaged in the industry. Councils of conciliation are thus set up for each dispute as it arises.

Constitution of the Court of Arbitration.

The court of arbitration is appointed for the whole of New Zealand, and consists of three members, one of whom the permanent judge of the court-possesses the same powers, privileges, etc., as a judge of the supreme court. Of the other members, one is nominated by the various unions of employers throughout the Dominion and one by the unions of workers, and their appointments are determined by a majority of the unions on each side, respectively. Like the members of the former boards of conciliation, they hold office for three years, and are eligible for reappointment. The judge and one member constitute a quorum. All decisions of the court are arrived at by the judgment of a majority of the members present at the sitting, or, if those members present are equally divided in opinion, the decision of the judge is final. The court has full power to deal with questions

brought before it, and, except in the case of matters which may be ruled to be beyond the scope of the act, there is no appeal from its decision.

Breaches.

Breaches of awards and industrial agreements are punishable as follows: A union, association, or employer by fine not exceeding £100 ($486.65) for each breach; a worker by fine not exceeding £5 ($24.33) for each breach. Penalties are recoverable at the suit of either an inspector of awards (by action in the magistrates' court or the arbitration court), or any party to the award or agreement (by action in the magistrates' court), but there is a right of appeal from the magistrates' to the arbitration court. Actions for the recovery of penalties must be commenced within six months after the cause of action has arisen.

COMPARISON OF MINIMUM RATES UNDER AWARDS WITH ACTUAL RATES PAID.

The department of labor of New Zealand in its report for 1909 makes extensive comparisons of the actual rates paid in various industries in the four chief industrial centers with the minimum rates paid under arbitration awards. In commenting upon its figures, the department report says:1

Appended to this report appears the result of an investigation, as far as factories are concerned, into the extent to which the arbitration court in fixing a minimum wage has or has not lowered the average wage, or injured high rates for especially good workers. It has so often been asserted with blind confidence that every award of a minimum wage has "leveled down" all wages, that it will come as a surprise to the general public to find how few workers have to accept the minimum wage, which is not, as has been so often stated, "the award wage," but a limit of wage below which no persons in that particular trade may be paid. In the bootmaking trade, for instance, in Auckland 66 per cent, in Wellington 85 per cent, in Christchurch 66 per cent, and in Dunedin 50 per cent of the workers receive wages above the minimum wage. In Auckland 91 per cent, in Wellington 57 per cent, in Christchurch 50 per cent, and in Dunedin 26 per cent of the cabinetmakers receive above the minimum wage named in the award. Plumbers and gas fitters receiving wages above the award minimum are: In Auckland 66 per cent, Wellington 19 per cent, in Christchurch 84 per cent, in Dunedin 59 per cent. It is of no use laboring the matter here by quoting figures too profusely, since the whole state of the case can be seen by any person studying the table, but the investigation has served to prick one of the bubbles so freely blown by opponents of the act when trying to gain the sympathy of those whose wages have been for years protected by the industrial courts from the undercutting of unscrupulous mates or the forcingdown methods of greedy exploiters.

The same report makes similar comparisons in a large number of industries. In the tailoring trade, including factory-made clothing,

2

1 Eighteenth Annual Report of the New Zealand Department of Labour, 1909. Wellington, 1909, p. xiii. 2 Idem., pp. 133 et seq.