COMPARATIVE SUMMARY OF LEGISLATION.

The following statement shows in a summary and comparative form the status of existing legislation relative to strikes and the maintenance of industrial peace on the railways and in other publicutility service of the leading commercial nations of the world. A comparison is made of the following features of such legislation:1 (1) Conditions under which lockouts or strikes are prohibited. (2) Penalties for the enforcement of antistrike legislation. (3) Legal machinery for the adjustment of disputes.

(4) Private or semiofficial machinery for the adjustment of disputes.

Any unusual or striking features of existing legislation or any important facts relative to the administration of the laws are referred to in the last column of the tabular statement. The countries for which information is shown are arranged in alphabetical order.

1 A more detailed account of legislation by countries will be found in succeeding sections of the report.

Antistrike and industrial conciliation legislation relative to public utilities, by countries.

Legal machinery for the adjustment of disputes.

Commonwealth of Australia.. Court of conciliation and arbitra

New South Wales.

tion, consisting of a president,
who is a member of the Federal
supreme court, and judges of the
Federal or a State supreme court,
appointed by the president as his
deputies. Provision is also
made for conciliation committees
of equal numbers of employers
and employees; assessors repre-
senting the parties appointed by
the court to advise it and local
industrial boards, equally repre-
sentative of workers and em-
ployers, presided over by a
judge of the supreme court of the
Commonwealth or supreme
courts of the States. The pro-
cedure is varied. The president
of the court may summon par-
ties to a dispute and by confer-
ence aim to reach an amicable
settlement; or there may be an
investigation as the basis of an
amicable settlement; or tem-
porary reference of a matter to a
conciliation committee or local
industrial board; all amicable
settlements have the force of a
formal award.

In New South Wales the law is
similar to that of the Common-
wealth and of Queensland in
that there are both an industrial
court (which is a superior court
and a court of record) and indus-
trial boards for groups of indus-
tries or callings, awards by the
latter being subject to amend-
ment, variation, or rescission by
the court.

Name of country.

Antistrike and industrial conciliation legislation relative to public utilities, by countries-Continued.

Legal machinery for the adjustment of disputes.

Conditions under which lockouts
and strikes are prohibited or are
illegal.

Penalties for enforcement of anti-
strike legislation.

Remarks.

Strikes and lockouts on public Union may be dissolved and funds Before forming a union, the organutilities are prohibited.

and property seized.

ization must notify the Government authorities and send them a copy of the constitution and

The law is administered by the
minister of labor and is under
the immediate direction of the
registrar of boards of conciliation
and investigation appointed by
the governor in council. Boards
of conciliation and investigation
are appointed by the minister
of labor, one member being
nominated by each party to the
dispute, and the third by these
two. If nominations are not
made in due time, the minister
appoints on his own motion.
Jurisdiction by the minister is
obtained by the request of either
party for the appointment of a
board of conciliation and investi-
gation.

By a law passed in 1910 provision
is made for the appointment of a
permanent arbitration court of 6
members selected from organiza-
tion of employers and employ-
ees with a president and vice
president with qualifications of
an ordinary judge. It is the
duty of this court to make the
parties to a dispute respect any
agreement between them. A
Government conciliator is ap-
pointed for 2 years. Whenever
a strike or lockout is impend-
ing (public notice being compul-
sory) it is his duty to intervene
and attempt to effect a settle-
ment.

Strikes or lockouts are prohibited Fines.
in cases where court awards or
trade agreements are broken.
In cases where no trade agree-
ments exist, a strike is legal, but
public notice must be given be-
fore it is started.

by-laws. The authorities may
then forbid the formation of the
union if they consider it will be
dangerous to the State.

There has been no serious strike on
Belgian railroads since their es-
tablishment. This is due to
the fact that positions on the rail-
ways are much sought after
because of stability of employ-
ment, pensions, and on account
of the prestige of being in the
Government service.

The object sought in publishing
the report of boards of investiga-
tion is to enlist the coercive force
of public opinion upon the side
of the right as found by the
board.