The Minister of Labour shall have the general administration of this Act.

The Registrar shall be the person who for the time being holds the office of Secretary for Labour, or such other person as the Governor-General from time to time appoints to be Registrar.

The Registrar may, in any matter arising in or out of the performance of his duties, state a case for the advice and opinion of the Court.

There may from time to time be appointed some fit person to be Deputy Registrar, who shall, under the control of the Registrar, perform such general official duties as he is called upon to perform under this Act or by the Registrar, and who in case of the illness, absence, or other temporary incapacity of the Registrar shall act in his name and on his behalf, and while so acting shall have and may exercise all the powers, duties, and functions of the Registrar.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, any society consisting of not less than three persons in the case of employers, or fifteen in the case of workers, lawfully associated for the purpose of protecting or furthering the interests of employers or workers in or in connection with any specified industry or related industries in New Zealand, may be registered as an industrial union under this Act on compliance with the following provisions:—

Mode of application and terms of rules.

Where in any case the number of members of a society of workers is not sufficient to qualify such society for registration as an industrial union in accordance with this section the Registrar may register such society if he is satisfied that the number of members thereof is not less than twenty-five per centum of the total number of workers engaged in the industry in the industrial district or locality concerned:

Provided that no such union shall consist of less than five members.

On being satisfied that the society is qualified to register under this Act, and that the provisions of the last preceding section have been complied with, the Registrar shall, without fee, register the society as an industrial union pursuant to the application, and shall issue a certificate of registration, which, unless proved to have been cancelled, shall be conclusive evidence of the fact of such registration and of the validity thereof.

The Registrar shall at the same time record the rules, and also the situation of the registered office.

Every society registered as an industrial union shall, as from the date of registration, but solely for the purposes of this Act, become a body corporate by the registered name, having perpetual succession and a common seal, until the registration is cancelled as hereinafter provided.

There shall be inserted in the registered name of every industrial union the word “employers” or “workers,” according as such union is a union of employers or workers, and also (except in the case of an incorporated company) the name of the industry or related industries in connection with which it is formed, and the locality in which the majority of its members reside or exercise their calling, as thus: “The [Christchurch Grocers’] Industrial Union of Employers”; “The [Wellington Tram-drivers’] Industrial Union of Workers.”

With respect to trade-unions the following special provisions shall apply, anything hereinbefore contained to the contrary notwithstanding:—

With respect to the registration of societies of employers the following special provisions shall apply:—

Registration of a foreign company represented by agent.

In no case shall an industrial union be registered under a name indentical with that by which any other industrial union has been registered under this Act, or by which any other trade-union has been registered under the Trade-unions Act, 1908, or so nearly resembling any such name as to be likely to deceive the members or the public.

In order to prevent the needless multiplication of industrial unions connected with the same industry in the same locality or industrial district the following special provisions shall apply:—

The effect of registration shall be to render the industrial union, and all persons who are members thereof at the time of registration, or who after such registration become members thereof, subject to the jurisdiction by this Act given to a Council and the Court respectively and liable to all the provisions of this Act, and all such persons shall be bound by the rules of the industrial union during the continuance of their membership.

Copies of all amendments or alterations of the rules of an industrial union shall, after being verified by the secretary or some other officer of the industrial union, be sent to the Registrar, who shall record the same upon being satisfied that the same are not in conflict with the requirements of this Act.

A printed copy of the rules of the industrial union shall be delivered by the secretary to any person requiring the same on payment of a sum not exceeding one shilling.

In all proceedings affecting the industrial union prima facie evidence of the rules and their validity may be given by the production of what purports to be a copy thereof, certified as a true copy under the seal of the union and the hand of the secretary or any other officer thereof.

In addition to its registered office an industrial union may also have a branch office in any industrial district in which any of its members reside or exercise their calling.

Upon application in that behalf by the union, under its seal and the hand of its chairman or secretary, specifying the situation of the branch office, the Registrar shall record the same, and thereupon the branch office shall be deemed to be registered.

The situation of the registered office and of each registered branch office of the industrial union may be changed from time to time by the committee of management, or in such other manner as the rules provide.

Every such change shall be forthwith notified to the Registrar by the secretary of the union, and thereupon the change shall be recorded by the Registrar.

All fees, fines, levies, or dues payable to an industrial union by any member thereof under its rules may, in so far as they are owing for any period of membership subsequent to the registration of the society under this Act, be sued for and recovered in the name of the union in any Court of competent jurisdiction by the secretary or the treasurer of the union, or by any other person who is authorized in that behalf by the committee of management or by the rules.

An industrial union may purchase or take on lease, in the name of the union or of trustees for the union, any house or building, and any land not exceeding five acres, and may sell, mortgage, exchange, or let the same or any part thereof; and no person shall be bound to inquire whether the union or the trustees have authority for such sale, mortgage, exchange, or letting; and the receipt of the union or the trustees shall be a discharge for the money arising therefrom.

In the month of January in every year there shall be forwarded to the Registrar by every industrial union a return showing the names, addresses, and occupations of the officers, trustees, and auditors of the union, and also the number of members of the union, as at the close of the last preceding month:

Provided that in the case of an incorporated company it shall be sufficient if the return contains the names of the directors and of the manager or other principal executive officer of the company:

Provided further that an industrial union of workers shall not return as a member any worker whose subscription is twelve months in arrear.

Each such return shall be verified by the statutory declaration of the chairman or secretary of the union.

Such statutory declaration shall be prima facie evidence of the truth of the matters set forth in such return.

Every industrial union making default in duly forwarding such return commits an offence against this Act, and is liable to a fine not exceeding two pounds for every week during which such default continues.

Every member of the committee of management of any such union who wilfully permits such default commits an offence against this Act, and is liable to a fine not exceeding five shillings for every week during which he wilfully permits such default.

Proceedings for the recovery of any such fine shall be taken in a summary way under the Justices of the Peace Act, 1908, on the information or complaint of the Registrar, and the amount recovered shall be paid into the Public Account and form part of the Consolidated Fund:

Provided that before taking the proceedings the Registrar shall give at least fourteen days’ notice to the offending parties of his intention so to do.

It shall be the duty of the Registrar to supply to Parliament, within thirty days after its meeting in each year, a return showing the number of members in each industrial union registered under this Act.

In addition to the return required to be furnished pursuant to the last preceding section the Registrar or any Inspector of Awards may at any time require any industrial union or association to furnish within seven days a statement showing the names, addresses, and occupations of the officers of the union or association, and, in the case of an industrial union, showing the names, addresses, and occupations of any of its members.

Every union or association which makes default in complying with the provisions of the last preceding subsection, and every officer of any such union or association so making default, is liable on summary conviction to a fine of five pounds for every day or part of a day during which such default continues.

Every person who wilfully makes or orders to be made any false entry in or any omission from any statement prepared pursuant to subsection one hereof is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds for each offence.

Every industrial union may sue or be sued for the purposes of this Act by the name by which it is registered; and service of any process, notice, or document of any kind may be effected by delivering the same to the chairman or secretary of such union, or by leaving the same at its registered office (not being a branch office), or by posting the same to such registered office in a duly registered letter addressed to the secretary of the union.

Deeds and instruments to be executed by an industrial union for the purposes of this Act may be made and executed under the seal of the union and the hands of the chairman and secretary thereof, or in such other manner as the rules of the union prescribe.

Whenever two or more industrial unions in the same industrial district connected with the same industry or related industries desire to amalgamate so as to form one union, and carry out such desire by registering a new industrial union, the Registrar shall place upon the certificate of registration of such new union a memorandum of the names of the unions whose registration is shown to his satisfaction to have been cancelled in consequence of such amalgamation and registration.

Where there is more than one award or industrial agreement in force relating to the industry or related industries within the same industrial district or any part thereof, the Court, on the application of any party to any such award or industrial agreement, may by order adjust the terms of such awards or industrial agreements, and such order shall have effect as if it were a new award or industrial agreement.

Until such order is made such amalgamation shall not have effect on any existing award or industrial agreement.

Any industrial union may at any time apply to the Registrar in the prescribed manner for a cancellation of the registration thereof, and thereupon the following provisions shall apply:—

If an industrial union makes default in forwarding to the Registrar the return required by section seventeen hereof, and the Registrar has reasonable cause to believe that the union is defunct, he may send by post to the last known officers of the union a letter calling attention to the default, and inquiring whether the union is in existence.

If within two months after sending such letter the Registrar does not receive a reply thereto, or receives a reply from any one or more of the officers to the effect that the union has ceased to exist, he may insert in the Gazette, and send to the last known officers of the union, a notice declaring that the registration of the union will, unless cause to the contrary is shown, be cancelled at the expiration of six weeks from the date of such notice.

At the expiration of the time mentioned in the notice the Registrar may, unless cause to the contrary is shown, strike the name of the union off the register, and shall publish notice thereof in the Gazette, and thereupon the registration of the union shall be cancelled.

The Registrar may, on the application of an industrial union made in accordance with a resolution agreed to at a special meeting convened for the purpose, approve of any alteration of the name of the union, and may amend the register accordingly, and issue a new certificate of registration.

No such alteration shall affect the entity of the industrial union.

Where the registration of a union or association is cancelled for the purpose of the issue of a fresh certificate or of the union or association being registered under a new name, such cancellation shall not affect the operation of any award or industrial agreement in force to which the original union or association was a party.

Any council or other body, however designated, representing not less than two industrial unions connected with one industry or related industries of either employers or workers may be registered as an industrial association of employers or workers under this Act.

All the provisions of this Act relating to industrial unions, their officers and members, shall, with the necessary modifications, extend and apply to an industrial association, its officers and members, and these provisions shall be read and construed accordingly in so far as the same are applicable:

Provided that an industrial association shall not be entitled to recommend the appointment of a member of the Court.

An industrial dispute may relate either to the industry in which the party by whom the dispute is referred for settlement to a Council or the Court, as hereinafter provided, is engaged or concerned, or to any industry related thereto.

An industry shall be deemed to be related to another where both of them are branches of the same trade, or are so connected that industrial matters relating to the one may affect the other: thus, bricklaying, masonry, carpentering, and painting are related industries, being all branches of the building trade, or being so connected as that the conditions of employment or other industrial matters relating to one of them may affect the others.

The Governor-General may from time to time, by notice in the Gazette, declare any specified industries to be related to one another, and such industries shall be deemed to be related accordingly.

The Court shall also in any industrial dispute have jurisdiction to declare industries to be related to one another.

The parties to industrial agreements under this Act shall in every case be trade-unions or industrial unions or industrial associations or employers; and any such agreement may provide for any matter or thing affecting any industrial matter, or in relation thereto or for the prevention or settlement of an industrial dispute.

Every industrial agreement shall be for a term to be specified therein, not exceeding three years from the date of the making thereof, as specified therein, and shall commence as follows: “This industrial agreement, made in pursuance of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, 1925, this day of, between”; and then the matters agreed upon shall be set out.

The date of the making of the industrial agreement shall be the date on which it is executed by the party who first executes it; and such date, and the names of all the original parties thereto, shall be truly stated therein.

Notwithstanding the expiry of the term of the industrial agreement, it shall continue in force until superseded by another industrial agreement or by an award of the Court, except where, pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-two or section twenty-three hereof, the registration of an industrial union of workers bound by such agreement has been cancelled.

A duplicate original of every industrial agreement shall, within thirty days after the making thereof, be filed in the office of the Clerk of the industrial district where the agreement is made.

At any time whilst the industrial agreement is in force any industrial union or industrial association or employer may become party thereto by filing in the office wherein such agreement is filed a notice in the prescribed form, signifying concurrence with such agreement.

Every industrial agreement duly made, executed, and filed shall be binding on the parties thereto, and also on every member of any industrial union or industrial association which is party thereto.

Every industrial agreement, whether made under this Act or under any former Act relating to industrial conciliation and arbitration, may be varied, renewed, or cancelled by any subsequent industrial agreement made by and between all the parties thereto, but so that no party shall be deprived of the benefit thereof by any subsequent industrial agreement to which he is not a party.

Whenever it is proved to the Court that an industrial agreement (whether made before or after the commencement of this Act) is binding on employers who employ a majority of the workers in the industry to which it relates in the industrial district in which it was made, the Court may, if it thinks fit, on the application of any party to that agreement or of any person bound thereby, make an order extending the operation of that agreement to all employers who are or who at any time after the making of the said order become engaged in the said industry in the said district, and all such employers shall thereupon be deemed to be parties to the said agreement, and shall be bound thereby so long as it remains in force.

Where it is proved to the Court that an industrial agreement (whether made before or after the commencement of this Act) is binding on employers who employ a majority of the workers in the industry to which it relates in the industrial district in which it was made, the Court shall, on the application of any of the parties to the agreement, declare the same to be an award unless, in the opinion of the Court, such agreement is, by reason of its provisions, against the public good or is in excess of the jurisdiction of the Court.

The Governor-General may from time to time, by notice in the Gazette, constitute and divide New Zealand or any portion thereof into such industrial districts, with such names and boundaries, as he thinks fit.

All industrial districts constituted under any former Act relating to industrial conciliation and arbitration and existing on the coming into operation of this Act shall be deemed to be constituted under this Act.

If any industrial district is constituted by reference to the limits or boundaries of any other portion of New Zealand defined or created under any Act, then, in case of the alteration of such limits or boundaries, such alteration shall take effect in respect of the district constituted under this Act without any further proceeding, unless the Governor-General otherwise determines.

In and for every industrial district there shall be appointed a Clerk of Awards (elsewhere in this Act referred to as the Clerk), who shall be paid such salary or other remuneration as may be lawfully provided, and shall be subject to the control and direction of the Registrar.

Every Clerk appointed under any former Act relating to industrial conciliation and arbitration and in office on the coming into operation of this Act shall be deemed to be appointed under this Act.

The office of Clerk may be held either separately or in conjunction with any other office in the Public Service, and in the latter case the Clerk may be appointed not by name but by reference to such other office, whereupon the person who for the time being holds such office or performs its duties shall by virtue thereof be the Clerk.

It shall be the duty of the Clerk—

No industrial dispute shall be referred to the Court until it has been first referred to a Council of Conciliation in accordance with the provisions hereinafter contained.

Every party to a dispute so referred to a Council of Conciliation shall be either an industrial union, an industrial association, or an employer.

The Governor-General may from time to time appoint such persons as he thinks fit (not exceeding four in number) as Conciliation Commissioners to exercise the powers and jurisdiction hereinafter set forth.

Every Commissioner shall be appointed for a period of three years, but may be reappointed from time to time, and may at any time be removed from office by the Governor-General.

Every Commissioner shall exercise his jurisdiction within such industrial district or districts as may be from time to time assigned to him by the Governor-General by Order in Council.

Every Commissioner shall receive such salary or other remuneration as is from time to time appropriated by Parliament for that purpose.

If on or before the expiry of the term of office of any Commissioner he is reappointed to that office, all proceedings pending before him or before any Council of Conciliation of which he is a member may be continued and completed as if he had held office continuously.

If from any cause any Commissioner is unable to act, the Governor-General may appoint some other person to act in his stead during the continuance of such inability, and while so acting the person so appointed shall have all the powers and jurisdiction of the Commissioner in whose stead he is acting.

If any Commissioner dies or resigns his office, or is removed from office, or if his term of office expires without reappointment, all proceedings then pending before him or before any Council of Conciliation of which he is a member may be continued before his successor or before the said Council, as the case may be, and for this purpose his successor shall be deemed to be a member of that Council, and all the powers and jurisdiction vested in the first-mentioned Commissioner as a member of that Council shall vest in his successor accordingly.

Where in any case no Commissioner is immediately available to deal with any dispute which has arisen, the Governor-General may appoint some person to act as a Commissioner for the purpose of dealing with such dispute, and while so acting the person so appointed shall have all the powers and jurisdiction of a Commissioner, and any Commissioner so appointed shall be paid such fees as may be fixed by regulation.

No appointment made in pursuance or intended pursuance of subsection six or subsection eight of this section shall in any Court or in any proceedings be questioned or invalidated on the ground that due occasion for the appointment has not arisen or has ceased.

Any industrial union, industrial association, or employer, being a party to an industrial dispute, may make application in the prescribed form to the Commissioner exercising jurisdiction within the industrial district in which the dispute has arisen that the dispute may be heard by a Council of Conciliation.

No such application shall be made by an industrial union or industrial association unless the proposed application has been approved by the members in manner provided by section one hundred and eight hereof.

Two or more industrial unions, industrial associations, or employers may join in making a joint application in respect of the same dispute.

In any case where an award or industrial agreement is in force an application under this section, with respect to any matters to which the award or agreement relates or any matters relative thereto, may be made at any time not earlier than two months before the expiration of the currency of the award or agreement.

Every application made under this section shall state—

Every person so recommended as an assessor must be or have been actually and bona fide engaged or employed either as an employer or as a worker in the industry, or in any one of the industries, in respect of which the dispute has arisen (whether in the same or in another industrial district):

Provided that if in any case, by reason of the special circumstances of that case, the Commissioner is of opinion that it is impracticable or inexpedient that all the assessors should be persons so qualified, he may appoint as one of their assessors, on the recommendation of the applicants, a person who is not so qualified.

Any person so recommended as an assessor may be one of the parties to the dispute, or may be a member of an industrial union or industrial association which is a party to the dispute.

If the Commissioner to whom the application is made is of opinion that any person so recommended is not duly qualified in accordance with this Act he shall reject the recommendation, and the applicants shall then recommend some other qualified person in his place. The provisions of subsection two of this section shall not apply to any such substituted recommendation. The decision of the Commissioner as to the qualification of any person recommended as an assessor shall be final.

If and as soon as the Commissioner is satisfied that the proposed number of qualified persons has been so recommended by the applicants, he shall by writing under his hand appoint those persons as assessors for the purpose of the said application.

So soon as assessors have been nominated in manner aforesaid the Commissioner shall appoint a day and place for the hearing of the dispute, and shall in the prescribed form and manner cite the respondents to attend at the hearing thereof, and in the meantime to recommend qualified persons for appointment as assessors at the said hearing, equal in number to the number so appointed on the recommendation of the applicants.

Not later than three clear days before the hearing of a dispute the respondents shall lodge with the Commissioner a statement in detail admitting such of the claims of the applicants as they desire to admit, or making a counter-proposal with respect to the claims of the applicants or some or one of them, and a copy of that statement shall be sent to the applicants by the Commissioner.

On the hearing of the dispute no counter-proposal by the respondents shall be considered other than those contained in the said statement except with the leave of the Commissioner on such terms and conditions as he deems just.

The foregoing provisions as to the qualification of assessors recommended by the applicants shall also apply to assessors recommended by the respondents.

If the Commissioner is of opinion that any person so recommended by the respondents is not duly qualified in accordance with this Act he shall reject the recommendation, and shall require the respondents to recommend some other qualified person, and so also in the case of any such subsequent recommendation, and the decision of the Commissioner as to the qualification of any person so recommended shall be final.

If and as soon as the Commissioner is satisfied that qualified persons to the required number have been recommended by the respondents, he shall by writing under his hand appoint those persons as assessors for the purposes of the application.

Unless the respondents recommend the required number of qualified persons as assessors at least three clear days before the day appointed for the hearing of the dispute, the Commissioner shall forthwith appoint on behalf of the respondents such number of qualified persons as is necessary to supply the full number of assessors required.

The recommendation of assessors by the respondents shall be in writing, signed by or on behalf of the respondents. If they cannot agree in the recommendation of assessors, separate recommendations may be made by the several respondents, and in that case the Commissioner may appoint as assessors such of the qualified persons so recommended as he thinks fit.

On the appointment of assessors in accordance with the foregoing provisions the Commissioner, together with the said assessors, shall be and constitute a Council of Conciliation having the powers and functions hereinafter provided.

The assessors shall be entitled to receive out of the Consolidated Fund such fees as are prescribed by regulations.

The validity or regularity of the appointment of any assessor by a Commissioner shall not be questioned in any Court or in any proceedings.

If at any time before the Council has completely exercised the powers vested in it by this Act any assessor dies, or resigns his office, or is proved to the satisfaction of the Commissioner to be unable by reason of sickness or any other cause to act as assessor, the Commissioner may, on the recommendation of the applicants or respondents, as the case may be, appoint some other qualified person as an assessor in lieu of the assessor so dying or resigning his office or becoming unable to act.

If the applicants or respondents, as the case may be, cannot agree on any such recommendation, they may make separate recommendations, and the Commissioner may thereupon appoint as an assessor such one of the qualified persons so recommended as he thinks fit.

The powers and functions of the Council shall not be affected by any such vacancy in the number of assessors, and during any such vacancy the Council may, so far as it thinks fit so to do, exercise all its powers and functions in the same manner as if it were fully constituted.

It shall be the duty of the Council to endeavour to bring about a settlement of the dispute, and to this end the Council shall, in such manner as it thinks fit, expeditiously and carefully inquire into the dispute and all matters affecting the merits and the right settlement thereof.

In the course of the inquiry the Council shall make all such suggestions and do all such things as it deems right and proper for inducing the parties to come to a fair and amicable settlement of the dispute.

The procedure of the Council shall in all respects be absolutely in the discretion of the Council, and the Council shall not be bound to proceed with the inquiry in any formal manner, or formally to sit as a tribunal, or to hear any addresses or evidence save such as the Council deems necessary or desirable.

The Council may on the inquiry hear any evidence that it thinks fit, whether such evidence would be legally admissible in a Court of law or not.

The inquiry shall be either public or private, as the Council thinks fit.

Meetings of the Council shall be held from time to time at such times and at such places within the industrial district in which the dispute has arisen as the Commissioner appoints.

No such meeting shall be duly constituted unless the Commissioner is present thereat, but the absence of any of the assessors shall not prevent the exercise by the Council of any of its powers or functions.

In all matters other than the making of a recommendation for the settlement of a dispute the decision of a majority of the assessors present at a meeting of the Council shall be deemed to be the decision of the Council, but if the assessors present are equally divided in opinion the Commissioner shall have a casting-vote, and the decision of the Council shall be determined accordingly.

A record of the proceedings of every Council shall be made and preserved in manner prescribed by regulations, or, in default of such regulations, in such manner as the Commissioner thinks fit.

The Commissioner shall have the same power of summoning witnesses and of taking evidence on oath, and of requiring the production of books and papers, as if the inquiry were the hearing of a complaint heard before a Justice of the Peace under the Justices of the Peace Act, 1908, and all evidence given on oath before the Council shall for all purposes be deemed to have been given in a judicial proceeding before a Court of competent jurisdiction.

No person shall be bound at any inquiry before the Council to give evidence with regard to trade secrets, profits, losses, receipts, or outgoings in his business, or with respect to his financial position, or to produce the books kept by him in connection with his business.

If any person desires to give any such evidence as is mentioned in the last preceding subsection, or to produce any such books as aforesaid, he may, if the Commissioner thinks fit, do so in the presence of the Commissioner alone sitting without the assessors; and in such case the Commissioner shall not disclose to the assessors, or to any other person, the particulars of the evidence so given or of the books so produced, but may inform the assessors whether or not, in his opinion, any claim or allegation made by the applicants or respondents in the inquiry is substantiated by the said evidence or the said books.

An employer being a party to the dispute may appear before the Council in person, or by his agent duly appointed in writing in that behalf.

An industrial union or industrial association being a party to a dispute may appear before the Council by its chairman or secretary, or by any number of persons (not exceeding three) appointed in writing by the chairman, or appointed in such other manner as its rules prescribe.

No barrister or solicitor, whether acting under a power of attorney or otherwise, shall be allowed to appear or be heard before the Council.

If any or all of the applicants or respondents fail or refuse to attend or to be represented at the inquiry, the Council may nevertheless proceed with the inquiry in the same manner so far as practicable as if all the said parties were present or represented.

The Commissioner may at any time before or during the inquiry make an order joining any industrial union, industrial association, or employer as an applicant or respondent, or striking out the name of any industrial union, industrial association, or employer as an applicant or respondent.

If a settlement of the dispute is arrived at by the parties in the course of the inquiry, the terms of the settlement shall be set forth as an industrial agreement, which shall be duly executed by the parties or their attorneys, and all the provisions of this Act with respect to industrial agreements shall apply to any such agreement accordingly.

If no settlement of the dispute is arrived at by the parties in the course of the inquiry, the Council shall endeavour to induce the parties to agree to some temporary and provisional arrangement until the dispute can be determined by the Court of Arbitration.

The Commissioner may at any time, if he thinks fit, after application has been made to him under section forty-one of this Act, and whether assessors have been appointed or not, take such steps as he deems advisable, whether by way of a conference between the applicants and respondents or otherwise, with intent to procure a voluntary settlement of the dispute.

If at any time after the date fixed in pursuance of section forty-two hereof for the hearing of the dispute the Council is satisfied that a settlement of the dispute will not thereby be arrived at, the Council shall deliver to the Clerk of Awards for the industrial district in which the dispute has arisen a notification to that effect under the hand of the Commissioner.

The notification shall be accompanied by a copy of the application made to the Council by the applicants, together with a record of the proceedings of the Council, every such copy and record being under the hand of the Commissioner.

Before delivering any such notification to the Clerk of Awards the Council may make such recommendation for the settlement of the dispute according to the merits and substantial justice of the case as the Council thinks fit, and may state in the recommendation whether, in the opinion of the Council, the failure of the parties to arrive at a settlement was due to the unreasonableness or unfairness of any of the parties to the dispute.

No such recommendation shall be made unless it is unanimously agreed to by all the assessors, and the Commissioner shall have no vote in respect of the making or nature of any such recommendation.

The recommendation of the Council shall be signed by all the assessors, and shall be delivered to the Clerk of Awards under the hand of the Commissioner, together with the notification.

The recommendation of the Council shall be published by the Clerk of Awards in such manner as may be prescribed.

The recommendation of the Council shall in no case have any binding force or effect, but shall operate merely as a suggestion for the amicable settlement of the dispute by mutual agreement and as a public announcement of the opinion of the Council as to the merits of the dispute.

If before the delivery of the notification of the Council to the Clerk of Awards as aforesaid a partial settlement of the dispute is arrived at by all the parties thereto, the terms of that partial settlement may be reduced to writing, executed by all the parties thereto, or their attorneys or representatives; and such writing (hereinafter termed a memorandum of partial settlement) shall be delivered by the Council to the Clerk of Awards, together with the notification aforesaid and the recommendation (if any) made by the Council.

No such memorandum of partial settlement shall in itself have any binding force or effect, but the Court of Arbitration may, if it thinks fit, in making its award in accordance with the provisions hereinafter contained in that behalf, incorporate in the award the terms of the said memorandum, or any of those terms, without making inquiry into the matters to which those terms relate.

The Council may at any time state a case for the advice or opinion of the Court of Arbitration.

When a recommendation of a Council of Conciliation is filed with the Clerk of Awards together with the notification that no settlement has been arrived at, the Clerk shall as soon as practicable give notice in the prescribed form to the parties to the dispute of the filing of the recommendation and of the place where it may be seen, and requiring them if they disagree with the recommendation to signify their disagreement within one month, and, if they so desire, to state reasons for such disagreement.

If within the time aforesaid no notice of disagreement has been filed, the Clerk shall as soon as possible thereafter give notice in the prescribed form to the parties of the fact, and the recommendation shall, as from seven days after the date of that notice, operate and be enforceable in the same manner as an industrial agreement duly executed and filed by the parties; and the Clerk shall endorse the recommendation accordingly.

If any party to the dispute duly signifies his disagreement with the recommendation the dispute shall be referred by the Clerk to the Court for settlement, and thereupon the dispute shall be before the Court, and the Court may, after hearing any of the parties that have signified their disagreement, incorporate the terms of the recommendation in an award.

If it appears to the Court that any reason given for disagreement with the recommendation is trivial or frivolous it may disregard such disagreement, and the parties so disagreeing shall be deemed to have concurred in the recommendation.

Where a notification that no settlement has been arrived at has been delivered to the Clerk of Awards and the Council makes no recommendation for the settlement of the dispute, the Clerk shall forthwith refer the dispute to the Court for settlement, and thereupon the dispute shall be deemed to be before the Court.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act, any industrial association of employers or of workers including in its membership industrial unions in more than one industrial district may make application for the hearing by a Council of Conciliation of any industrial dispute affecting two or more industrial districts in which it has affiliated unions.

Such application shall be filed with the Clerk of Awards in one of the industrial districts affected by the dispute, and all the provisions of this Act relating to the procedure to be followed in respect of conciliation proceedings shall, with the necessary modifications, apply to such application:

Provided that the statement mentioned in subsection two of section forty-two hereof shall be lodged with the Commissioner not later than ten clear days before the hearing of the dispute.

On the filing of any such application the industrial districts affected by the dispute shall be deemed to be one industrial district (herein referred to as a combined district), and the Clerk of Awards in the district in which the application is filed shall be deemed to be the Clerk for the combined district.

The Minister, on the application of the Clerk, shall forthwith nominate a Conciliation Commissioner, who shall thereupon be deemed to be the Conciliation Commissioner for the combined district. At any time during the hearing of the dispute the Minister may substitute another Conciliation Commissioner for the Commissioner so nominated, or may nominate an additional Commissioner to assist him.

In the case of any dispute to which this section relates the Commissioner may, at his option, whether the hearing is commenced or not, increase to any number not exceeding six the number of assessors that may be appointed on the recommendation of the applicants, and the number of assessors so fixed by the Commissioner shall be appointed accordingly, and a like number shall be appointed on the recommendation of the respondents, in accordance with the provisions in that behalf of this Act.

If a full settlement of the dispute is not effected by the Council the dispute shall be referred to the Court for settlement, and all the provisions of this Act relating to the procedure to be followed in respect to arbitration proceedings shall, with the necessary modifications, apply accordingly.

In any such case the place or places of hearing of the dispute by the Court shall be fixed by the Court.

For the purposes of this Act a dispute shall be deemed to have been referred to a Council of Conciliation as soon as the Council is fully constituted in accordance with this Act.

The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, make such regulations as he deems necessary for carrying this Part of this Act into effect.

There shall be one Court of Arbitration for the whole of New Zealand for the settlement of industrial disputes pursuant to this Act.

The Court shall have a seal, which shall be judicially noticed in all Courts of judicature and for all purposes.

The Court shall consist of three members, who shall be appointed by the Governor-General. Of the three members of the Court one shall be the Judge of the Court, and shall be so appointed, and the other two (hereinafter called nominated members) shall be appointed as hereinafter provided.

No person shall be eligible for appointment as Judge of the Court unless he is eligible to be a Judge of the Supreme Court.

The Judge so appointed shall, as to tenure of office, salary, emoluments, and privileges (including superannuation allowance), have the same rights and be subject to the same provisions as a Judge of the Supreme Court.

In case of the illness or unavoidable absence of the Judge of the Court at any time the Governor-General shall appoint some Judge of the Supreme Court to act as Judge of the Court during such illness or absence.

This Act shall be deemed to be a permanent appropriation of the salary of the Judge of the Court.

Of the two nominated members of the Court one shall be appointed on the recommendation of the industrial unions of employers, and one on the recommendation of the industrial unions of workers.

For the purposes of the appointment of the nominated members of the Court (other than the Judge) the following provisions shall apply:—

Procedure for appointment of nominated members.

Every nominated member or acting nominated member of the Court shall hold office for three years from the date of the gazetting of his appointment or until the appointment of his successor, and shall be eligible for reappointment.

With respect to the Court constituted under the enactments mentioned in the Schedule hereto and subsisting on the coming into operation of this Act, and with respect also to the members thereof then in office, the following provisions shall apply:—

If at any time a vacancy exists in the office of nominated member of the Court, or if any nominated member is not present at any sitting of the Court, the Judge may summon the acting nominated member appointed on the recommendation of the industrial unions of employers or of workers, as the case may be, to attend the sittings of the Court and to act as nominated member during such time as there is no nominated member present appointed on the recommendation of such unions, and while so acting the acting nominated member shall have and may exercise all the powers, functions, and privileges, and shall perform all the duties, of the nominated member for whom he is acting.

If at any time when an acting nominated member is required to attend the sittings of the Court a vacancy exists in the office of such acting nominated member, or the acting nominated member is not present at any such sitting, the Governor-General may, on the recommendation of the Judge, appoint such other person to be temporary nominated member as in his opinion will effectively represent the industrial unions of employers or of workers, as the case may be.

The Judge may thereupon summon such temporary nominated member to attend the sittings of the Court and to act as nominated member during such time as there is present no nominated member or acting nominated member appointed on the recommendation of the industrial unions of employers or of workers, as the case may be, and while so acting the temporary nominated member shall have and may exercise all the powers, functions, and privileges, and shall perform all the duties, of the nominated member for whom he is acting.

When the nominated member or acting nominated member, as the case may be, is again present at the sittings of the Court the acting nominated member or the temporary nominated member, as the case may be, shall cease to act:

Provided that if such acting nominated member or temporary nominated member is then engaged on the hearing of a case the Judge may require him to complete such hearing before ceasing to act.

When any acting nominated member or temporary nominated member is acting as nominated member he shall be paid a salary for the time during which he is so acting at the rate provided for the said nominated member.

During the absence of any nominated member he may be paid such rate of salary (if any) as the Minister thinks fit, not exceeding in any case the rate prescribed by this Act.

The appointment of a nominated member, or of an acting nominated member, or of a temporary nominated member, of the Court shall not be questioned on any ground whatsoever; and no act done by the Court sitting with an acting nominated member or a temporary nominated member, or done by such acting nominated member or temporary nominated member, shall be questioned on the ground that the occasion for such acting nominated member or temporary nominated member acting as a member of the Court had not arisen or had ceased.

Whether the Court at any sitting thereof is duly constituted as required by the provisions of this Act or has been duly convened for such sitting are matters to be determined by the Judge, whose decision thereon shall be final and conclusive, and shall not be questioned in any proceedings in the Court or in any other Court.

The fact that a sitting of the Court has been held shall be conclusive evidence of a decision by the Judge that the Court was duly constituted at and duly convened for that sitting.

In any case where the permanent nominated member is himself a party to the dispute or proceedings, and is consequently unable to act as member, the acting nominated member may attend and act; and the provisions of the last preceding section shall, with the necessary modifications, apply.

If in any such case as last aforesaid there is no duly appointed acting nominated member who can attend and act, the Governor-General may, on the recommendation of the Judge, appoint a fit person to attend and act for the purpose of hearing and determining the dispute or proceedings to which the permanent nominated member is a party, and the person so appointed shall be deemed to be an acting nominated member for the purpose aforesaid.

If any nominated member or acting nominated member of the Court resigns by letter to the Governor-General his office shall thereby become vacant, and the vacancy shall be deemed to be a casual vacancy.

The Governor-General shall remove any nominated member or acting nominated member of the Court from office who becomes disqualified or incapable under section one hundred and four hereof, or is proved to be guilty of inciting any industrial union or employer to commit any breach of an industrial agreement or award, or is absent without the consent of the Judge from four consecutive sittings of the Court; and every vacancy thereby caused shall be deemed to be a casual vacancy.

Whenever a casual vacancy exists in the office of nominated member or acting nominated member of the Court the Governor-General may fill the vacancy in the manner provided by section sixty-five hereof in the case of an original appointment; or if the casual vacancy exists in the office of nominated member the Governor-General may, if he thinks fit, appoint as nominated member the acting nominated member appointed on the recommendation of industrial unions of employers or of workers, as the case may be.

In the event of the appointment of the acting nominated member as the nominated member a casual vacancy shall be deemed to exist in the office of acting nominated member, and the Governor-General may either proceed to fill such vacancy in the same manner as in the case of an original appointment or may allow such vacancy to continue until the expiry of the term of office of such acting nominated member.

Every person appointed to fill a casual vacancy shall hold office only for the residue of the term of his predecessor.

Before entering on the exercise of the functions of their office the nominated members of the Court shall make oath or affirmation before the Judge that they will faithfully and impartially perform the duties of their office, and also that, except in the discharge of their duties, they will not disclose to any person any evidence or other matter brought before the Court.

There shall be paid to each nominated member of the Court the annual sum of seven hundred and fifty pounds, in addition to such travelling-expenses as are prescribed by regulations.

This Act shall be deemed to be a permanent appropriation of the salaries of the nominated members of the Court.

There may from time to time be appointed some fit person to be Registrar to the Court, who shall be paid such salary as may be lawfully provided, and who shall be subject to the control and direction of the Court. In the event of there being no Registrar, or of his absence, all references in this Act to the Registrar to the Court shall be deemed to be references to the Clerk of Awards of the industrial district to which the subject-matter relates.

There may also from time to time be appointed such clerks or other officers of the Court as may be necessary.

The Court shall have jurisdiction for the settlement and determination of any industrial dispute referred to it under the provisions of this Act.

Forthwith after any dispute has been duly referred to the Court for settlement under the provisions in that behalf hereinbefore contained the Clerk shall notify the fact to the Judge.

Subject to provisions hereinafter contained as to the joining or striking-out of parties, the parties to the proceedings before the Court shall be the same as in the proceedings before a Council, and the provisions hereinbefore contained as to the appearance of parties before a Council shall apply to proceedings before the Court.

With respect to the sittings of the Court the following provisions shall apply:—

Any party to the proceedings before the Court may appear personally or by agent, or, with the consent of all the parties, by barrister or solicitor, and may produce before the Court such witnesses, books, and documents as such party thinks proper.

The Court shall in all matters before it have full and exclusive jurisdiction to determine the same in such manner in all respects as in equity and good conscience it thinks fit.

The following provisions shall have effect both with reference to applications and disputes pending on the coming into operation of this Act and to applications hereafter filed:—

With respect to evidence in proceedings before the Court the following provisions shall apply:—

The presence of the Judge and at least one other member shall be necessary to constitute a sitting of the Court.

The decision of a majority of the members present at the sitting of the Court, or if the members present are equally divided in opinion, then the decision of the Judge, shall be the decision of the Court.

The decision of the Court shall in every case be signed by the Judge, and may be delivered by him, or by any other member of the Court, or by the Clerk.

The Court may refer any matters before it to a Council for investigation and report, and in such case the award of the Court may, if the Court thinks fit, be based on the report of the Council.

The Court may at any time dismiss any matter referred to it which it thinks frivolous or trivial, and in such case the award may be limited to an order upon the party bringing the matter before the Court for payment of costs of bringing the same.

The Court in its award may order any party to pay to the other party such costs and expenses (including expenses of witnesses) as it deems reasonable, and may apportion such costs between the parties or any of them as it thinks fit, and may at any time vary or alter any such order in such manner as it thinks reasonable:

Provided that in no case shall costs be allowed on account of barristers, solicitors, or agents.

The award of the Court on any reference shall be made within one month after the Court began to sit for the hearing of the reference, or within such extended time as in special circumstances the Court thinks fit.

The award shall be signed by the Judge, and have the seal of the Court attached thereto, and shall be deposited in the office of the Clerk of the district wherein the reference arose, and be open to inspection without charge during office hours by all persons interested therein.

The Clerk shall upon application supply certified copies of the award for a prescribed fee.

The award shall be framed in such manner as shall best express the decision of the Court, avoiding all technicality where possible, and shall specify—

The award shall also state in clear terms what is or is not to be done by each party on whom the award is binding, or by the workers affected by the award, and may provide for an alternative course to be taken by any party.

The award, by force of this Act, shall extend to and bind as subsequent party thereto every trade-union, industrial union, industrial association, or employer who, not being an original party thereto, is at any time whilst the award is in force connected with or engaged in the industry to which the award applies within the industrial district to which the award relates.

The Court may in any award made by it limit the operation of such award to any city, town, or area being within or part of any industrial district.

The Court shall in such case have power, on the application of any trade-union, industrial union, industrial association, or employer in any industrial district within which the award has effect, to extend the provisions of such award (if such award has been limited in its operation as aforesaid) to any trade-union, industrial union, industrial association, employer, or person within such industrial district.

The Court may, if it thinks fit, limit the operation of any award heretofore made to any particular city, town, or area in any industrial district in which such award now has effect.

The extension or limitation referred to in subsections five and six of this section shall be made upon such notice to and application of such parties as the Court may in its discretion direct.

In making its award the Court may, if in its discretion it thinks fit, direct that any provision of the award relating to the rate of wages to be paid shall have effect as from such date prior to the date of the award as the Court thinks fit.

The Court may in its discretion waive any technical irregularity or omission which may have occurred in the submission or reference of a dispute to the Court, provided that the provisions of this Act referring to the particular matter in regard to which the irregularity or omission has occurred have been substantially complied with.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein contained, an industrial association of employers or workers may make application to the Court in the first instance for an award to apply to more than one industrial district.

The application shall contain the particulars mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (d) of subsection five of section forty-one hereof, and such of the provisions of that section as are applicable shall extend and apply accordingly.

The application shall be filed with the Clerk of Awards in each of the industrial districts in which the award is intended to have force.

Notice of the application shall be given in the prescribed form to the parties who it is intended shall be bound by the award.

The provisions of subsections two and three of section forty-two hereof (relating to counter-proposals) shall extend and apply, with the necessary modifications, to proceedings under this section:

Provided that the statement mentioned in the said subsection two shall be lodged with the Commissioner not later than ten clear days before the hearing of the dispute.

The application shall be heard at such place or places as the Court directs.

The Court may, if it thinks fit, make an award upon such application, and that award shall bind as parties all trade-unions, industrial unions, industrial associations, and employers in all or one or more of the industrial districts for which the application has been filed.

Any award in force on the coming into operation of this Act shall, notwithstanding the expiration of the currency of such award, continue in force until a new award has been made under this Act, except where, pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-two or section twenty-three hereof, the registration of an industrial union of workers bound by such award has been cancelled.

The Court may, upon notice to any trade-union, industrial union, industrial association, or employer within the district, and engaged in the industry to which any such award applies, not being an original party thereto, extend the award and its provisions to such trade-union, industrial union, industrial association, or employer.

With respect to every award, whether made before or after the coming into operation of this Act, the following special powers shall be exercisable by the Court by order at any time during the currency of the award, that is to say:—

The award, by force of this Act, shall also extend to and bind every worker who is at any time whilst it is in force employed by any employer on whom the award is binding; and if such worker commits any breach of the award he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds, to be recovered in like manner as if he were a party to the award.

Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing subsections, the Court may, on the application of any party to an award, extend the award so as to join and bind as parties thereto all trade-unions, industrial unions, industrial associations, and employers in New Zealand who are connected with or engaged in the same industry as that to which the award applies:

Provided that the Court shall not act under this subsection unless it is satisfied that the conditions of employment or of trade are such as make it equitable to do so.

The powers by the last preceding section conferred upon the Court may be exercised on the application of any party bound by the award.

At least thirty days’ notice of the application shall be served on all other parties (including, in the case of an application under paragraph (b) of that section, every trade-union, industrial union, industrial association, or employer to whom it is desired that the award should be extended).

The application may be made to the Court direct, without previous reference to a Council.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act, the Court shall have full power, upon being satisfied that reasonable notice has been given of any application in that behalf, to add any party or parties to any award; and thereupon any such party or parties shall be bound by the provisions thereof, subject to any condition or qualification contained in the order adding such party or parties.

Orders adding parties heretofore made by the Court shall be as valid as if made in exercise of the foregoing power, whether made in pursuance of a reservation in the award or not.

Where workers engaged upon different trades are employed in any one business of any particular employer, the Court may make one award applicable to such business, and embracing, as the Court thinks fit, the whole or part of the various branches constituting the business of such employer.

Before the Court shall exercise such power notice shall be given to the respective industrial unions of workers engaged in any branch of such business.

In all legal and other proceedings on the award it shall be sufficient to produce the award with the seal of the Court thereto, or a copy of the award certified under the hand of the Clerk of Awards, or any official printed copy of the award published by the Labour Department, and it shall not be necessary to prove any conditions precedent entitling the Court to make the award.

Proceedings in the Court shall not be impeached or held bad for want of form, nor shall the same be removable to any Court by certiorari or otherwise; and no award, order, or proceeding of the Court shall be liable to be challenged, appealed against, reviewed, quashed, or called in question by any Court of judicature on any account whatsoever.

The Court in its award, or by order made on the application of any of the parties at any time whilst the award is in force, may fix and determine what shall constitute a breach of the award.

The Court in its award, or by order made on the application of any of the parties at any time whilst the award is in force, may prescribe a minimum rate of wages or other remuneration, with special provision for a lower rate being fixed in the case of any worker who is unable to earn the prescribed minimum:

Provided that such lower rate shall in every case be fixed by such tribunal in such manner and subject to such provisions as are specified in that behalf in the award or order.

In every case where the Court in its award or other order directs the payments of costs or expenses it shall fix the amount thereof, and specify the parties or persons by and to whom the same shall be paid.

Every Inspector appointed under the Factories Act, 1921–22, shall be an Inspector of Awards under this Act, and shall be charged with the duty of seeing that the provisions of any industrial agreement, or award, or order of the Court, are duly observed.

Every Inspector of Mines appointed under either the Coalmines Act, 1925, or the Mining Act, 1908, shall be an Inspector of Awards, and shall be charged with the duty of seeing that the provisions of any such agreement, award, or order are duly observed in any coalmine or mine within his district.

In the discharge of such duty an Inspector of Awards may require any employer or worker to produce for his examination any wages-books and overtime-books necessary for the purposes of this section; and, in addition, every such Inspector shall have and may exercise all the powers conferred on Inspectors of Factories by section five of the Factories Act, 1921–22, and that section and sections six and seven of the same Act shall, with the necessary modifications, extend and apply to Inspectors of Awards.

Except for the purposes of this Act, and in the exercise of his functions under this Act, an Inspector shall not disclose to any person any information which in the exercise of such functions he acquires; and any Inspector who, in contravention of this Act, divulges any information shall be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

A wages and overtime book shall be kept by every employer bound by an award or industrial agreement, and every such employer who fails to keep such book, or wilfully makes any false entry therein, is liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

All fines under this section shall be recoverable summarily before a Magistrate in accordance with the Justices of the Peace Act, 1908.

The Court shall have full and exclusive jurisdiction to deal with all offences under paragraph (f) of section eighty-two, or section one hundred and nine, or section one hundred and fourteen, or section one hundred and fifteen, or section one hundred and twenty hereof, and for that purpose the following provisions shall apply:—

The Court shall have power to make rules for the purpose of regulating the practice and procedure of the Court, and the proceedings of parties; provided that such rules shall not conflict with regulations made under section one hundred and sixty hereof.

The following persons shall be disqualified from being appointed, or becoming, or from holding office as nominated member or acting nominated member of the Court; and if so appointed shall be incapable of continuing to hold the office:—

The Judge of the Arbitration Court may in any matter before the Court state a case for the opinion of the Court of Appeal on any question of law arising in the matter.

In any proceeding before a Council or the Court relating to any industry any organization of employers, or any organization of workers consisting of not less than fifteen members, connected with that industry in the locality to which the proceeding relates shall be entitled to appear and be heard in every respect as if they were parties to such proceeding if in the opinion of the Commissioner, where such proceeding is before a Council, or of the Court, where such proceeding is before the Court, such organization of employers or workers, or the members thereof, may in any manner be affected by any result of such proceeding.

Where an industrial union of workers is party to an industrial dispute, the jurisdiction of the Court to deal with the dispute shall not be affected by reason merely that no member of the union is employed by any party to the dispute, or is personally concerned in the dispute.

An industrial dispute shall not be referred for settlement to a Council by an industrial union or association unless and until the proposed reference has been approved by the members by resolution passed by secret ballot at a special meeting of the union or of the unions concerned, as the case may be.

Each such special meeting shall be duly constituted, convened, and held in manner provided by the rules, save that notice of the proposal to be submitted to the meeting shall be posted to all the members, and that the proposal shall be deemed to be carried if, but not unless, a majority of all the members present at the meeting of the industrial union vote in favour of it.

A certificate under the hand of the chairman of any such special meeting shall, until the contrary is shown, be sufficient evidence as to the due constitution and holding of the meeting, the nature of the proposal submitted, and the result of the voting.

In every case where an industrial dispute has been referred to a Council the following special provisions shall apply:—

Every employer who dismisses from his employment any worker by reason merely of the fact that the worker is an officer or a member of an industrial union, or merely because such worker has acted as an assessor on a Council of Conciliation or has represented his union in any negotiations or conference between employers and workers, or merely because such worker is entitled to the benefit of an award, order, or agreement, is liable to a penalty not exceeding twenty-five pounds, to be recovered at the suit of an Inspector of Awards in the same manner as a penalty for the breach of an award.

A worker shall be deemed to be dismissed within the meaning of this section if he is suspended for a longer period than ten days.

In every case where the worker dismissed was immediately preceding his dismissal a president, vice-president, secretary, or treasurer of an industrial union, or an assessor for a Council of Conciliation, or represented his union in any negotiations or conference between employers and workers, it shall lie on the employer to prove that such worker was dismissed for a reason other than that he had acted in any of the said capacities.

If during the currency of an award any employer, worker, industrial union, or association, or any combination of either employers or workers, has taken proceedings with the intention to defeat any of the provisions of the award, such employer, worker, union, association, or combination, and every member thereof respectively, shall be deemed to have committed a breach of the award, and shall be liable accordingly.

Whenever an industrial dispute involving technical questions is referred to the Court the following special provisions shall apply:—

In order to enable a Council or the Court the more effectually to dispose of any matter before it according to the substantial merits and equities of the case, it may, at any stage of the proceedings, of its own motion or on the application of any of the parties, and upon such terms as it thinks fit, by order,—

The powers by this section conferred upon a Council may, when the Council is not sitting, be exercised by the Commissioner.

The powers by this section conferred upon the Court may, when the Court is not sitting, be exercised by the Judge.

If in any proceedings before a Council or the Court any person wilfully insults any member of the Council or Court or the Clerk, or wilfully interrupts the proceedings, or without good cause refuses to give evidence, or is guilty in any other manner of any wilful contempt in the face of the Council or Court, it shall be lawful for any officer of the Council or Court, or any constable, to take the person offending into custody and remove him from the precincts of the Council or Court, to be detained in custody until the rising of the Council or Court, and the person so offending shall be liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

Every person who prints or publishes anything calculated to obstruct or in any way interfere with or prejudicially affect any matter before a Council or the Court is liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

If, without good cause shown, any party to proceedings before the Court fails to attend or be represented, the Court may proceed and act as fully in the matter before it as if such party had duly attended or been represented.

Where any change takes place in the members constituting the Court, any proceeding or inquiry then in progress shall not abate or be affected, but shall continue and be dealt with by the Court as if no such change had taken place:

Provided that the Court may require evidence to be retaken where necessary.

Proceedings before the Court shall not abate by reason of the seat of any member of the Court being vacant for any cause whatever, or of the death of any party to the proceedings, and in the latter case the legal personal representative of the deceased party shall be substituted in his stead.

An award or order of the Court shall not be void or in any way vitiated by reason merely of any informality or error of form or non-compliance with this Act.

The proceedings of the Court shall be conducted in public:

Provided that, at any stage of the proceedings before it, the Court, of its own motion or on the application of any of the parties, may direct that the proceedings be conducted in private; and in such case all persons (other than the parties, their representatives, the officers of the Court, and the witness under examination) shall withdraw.

The Court may sit during the day or at night, as it thinks fit.

Any Council and the Court, and, upon being authorized in writing by a Council or the Court, any member of such Council or Court respectively, or any officer of such Council or Court, or any other person, without any other warrant than this Act, may at any time between sunrise and sunset—

Inspection of work and interrogation of persons.

Every person who hinders or obstructs a Council or the Court, or any member or officer thereof respectively, or other person, in the exercise of any power conferred by this section, or who refuses to a Council or the Court, or any member or officer thereof respectively duly authorized as aforesaid, entrance during any such time as aforesaid to any such manufactory, building, workshop, factory, mine, mine-workings, ship or vessel, shed, place, or premises, or refuses to answer any question put to him as aforesaid, is liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

In this Act the term “strike” means the act of any number of workers who are or have been in the employment whether of the same employer or of different employers in discontinuing that employment, whether wholly or partially, or in breaking their contracts of service, or in refusing or failing after any such discontinuance to resume or return to their employment, the said discontinuance, breach, refusal, or failure being due to any combination, agreement, or common understanding, whether express or implied, made or entered into by the said workers—

In this Act the expression “to strike” means to become a party to a strike, and the term “striker” means a party to a strike.

In this Act the term “lockout” means the act of an employer in closing his place of business, or suspending or discontinuing his business or any branch thereof—

When a strike takes place in any industry every worker who is or becomes a party to the strike and who is at the commencement of the strike bound by any award or industrial agreement affecting that industry shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding ten pounds.

When a lockout takes place in any industry every employer who is or becomes a party to the lockout and who is at the commencement of the lockout bound by any award or industrial agreement affecting that industry shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five hundred pounds.

No worker or employer shall be liable to more than one penalty in respect of the same strike or lockout, notwithstanding the continuance thereof.

No proceedings shall be commenced or continued under this section against any worker or employer who is a party to a strike or lockout if judgment has already been obtained under the next succeeding section in respect of the same strike or lockout against any industrial union or industrial association of which the worker or employer is a member.

Every person who incites, instigates, aids, or abets an unlawful strike or lockout or the continuance of any such strike or lockout, or who incites, instigates, or assists any person to become a party to any such strike or lockout, is liable, if a worker, to a penalty not exceeding ten pounds, and if an industrial union, industrial association, trade-union, employer, or any person other than a worker, to a penalty not exceeding two hundred pounds.

Every person who makes any gift of money or other valuable thing to or for the benefit of any person who is a party to any unlawful strike or lockout, or to or for the benefit of any industrial union, industrial association, trade-union, or other society or association of which any such person is a member, shall be deemed to have aided or abetted the strike or lockout within the meaning of this section, unless he proves that he so acted without the intent of aiding or abetting the strike or lockout.

When a strike or lockout takes place, and a majority of the members of any industrial union or industrial association are at any time parties to the strike or lockout, the said union or association shall be deemed to have instigated the strike or lockout.

In this section the term “unlawful strike” means a strike of any workers who are bound at the commencement of the strike by an award or industrial agreement affecting the industry in which the strike arises.

In this section the term “unlawful lockout” means a lockout by any employer who is bound at the commencement of the lockout by an award or industrial agreement affecting the industry in which the lockout occurs.

Every penalty under section one hundred and twenty-three or section one hundred and twenty-four hereof shall be recoverable at the suit of an Inspector of Awards in the same manner as a penalty for a breach of an award and not otherwise, and all the provisions of this Act with respect to the enforcement of an award shall, so far as applicable, apply accordingly.

If any person employed in any of the industries to which this section applies strikes without having given to his employer, within one month before so striking, not less than fourteen days’ notice in writing, signed by him, of his intention to strike, or strikes before the expiry of any notice so given by him, the striker shall be liable on summary conviction before a Magistrate to a fine not exceeding twenty-five pounds.

If any employer engaged in any of the industries to which this section applies locks out without having given to his employees, within one month before so locking out, not less than fourteen days’ notice in writing of his intention to lock out, or locks out before the expiry of any notice so given by him, such employer shall be liable on summary conviction before a Magistrate to a fine not exceeding five hundred pounds.

This section applies to the following industries:—

Every person who incites, instigates, aids, or abets any offence against this section, or who incites, instigates, or assists any person who has struck or locked out in breach of this section to continue to be a party to the strike or lockout, shall be liable on summary conviction before a Magistrate to a fine not exceeding in the case of a worker twenty-five pounds, or in the case of an industrial union, industrial association, trade-union, employer, or any person other than a worker, five hundred pounds.

Nothing in this section shall affect any liability under section one hundred and twenty-three or section one hundred and twenty-four of this Act, save that when a judgment or conviction has been obtained against any person under any one of those sections no further proceedings shall be taken or continued against him under any other of those sections in respect of the same act.

When an industrial union or industrial association of workers is convicted under the last preceding section of having incited, instigated, aided, or abetted a strike by any of its members in breach of that section, or the continuance by any of its members of a strike commenced in breach of that section, or when judgment is obtained under section one hundred and twenty-four of this Act against an industrial union or industrial association of workers for a penalty incurred by it for inciting, instigating, aiding, or abetting a strike by any of its members, or the continuance of any such strike, or for inciting, instigating, or assisting any person to become a party to any such strike, the Court in which the conviction or judgment is obtained may in the said conviction or judgment order that the registration of the union or association shall be suspended for such period as the Court thinks fit, not exceeding two years.

During any such period of suspension the said union or association shall be incapable of instituting or continuing or of being a party to any conciliation or arbitration proceedings under this Act, or of entering into any industrial agreement, or of taking or continuing any proceedings for the enforcement of an award or industrial agreement, or of making any application for the cancellation of its registration.

During any such period of suspension the operation of any award or industrial agreement in force at any time during that period shall be suspended so far as the award or industrial agreement applies to persons who are members of that union or association, or who were members thereof at the time when the offence was committed in respect of which the said judgment or conviction was given or obtained, and also so far as the award or industrial agreement applies to the employers of any such persons:

Provided that in making the order of suspension the Court may limit the operation of this subsection to any industrial district or districts, or to any portion thereof.

During any period of such suspension no new industrial union or industrial association of workers shall be registered in the same industrial district in respect of the same industry.

The industrial union or industrial association against which any such order of suspension is made may appeal therefrom in the same manner as from the judgment or conviction in respect of which the order is made, and on any such appeal the Court in which it is heard may confirm, vary, or quash the order of suspension, and may make such order as to the costs of the appeal as the said Court thinks fit.

The variation or quashing of an order of suspension on appeal shall take effect as from the date on which the order is so varied or quashed, and not as from the date of the order.

Every judgment or conviction in respect of which any such order of suspension is made shall be subject to appeal to the Court of Arbitration, whether on a point of law or fact, whatever may be the amount of that judgment or of the fine imposed by that conviction.

This Part of this Act applies to all awards and industrial agreements whether made before or after the commencement of this Act, and to all breaches of awards or industrial agreements whether committed before or after the commencement of this Act.

Every industrial union, industrial association, or employer who commits a breach of an award or industrial agreement shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds in respect of every such breach.

Every worker who commits a breach of an award or industrial agreement shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds in respect of every such breach.

Subject to the provisions of section one hundred and thirty-six hereof, every such penalty shall be recoverable by action in a Magistrate’s Court and not otherwise.

Every such action may be brought in any Magistrate’s Court in any industrial district in which the award or industrial agreement is in force or in which the cause of action or any part thereof arose, and shall be heard and determined by a Magistrate only.

Every such action may be brought at the suit of an Inspector of Awards or at the suit of any party to the award or industrial agreement.

A claim for two or more penalties against the same defendant may be joined in the same action, although the aggregate amount so claimed may be in excess of the jurisdiction of the Magistrate’s Court in an ordinary action for the recovery of money.

No Court fees shall be payable in respect of any such action.

No industrial union or industrial association shall be capable of bringing any such action until a resolution to that effect has been passed at a meeting of the committee of management of the union or association in accordance with the rules thereof.

In any such action the Magistrate may give judgment for the total amount claimed, or any greater or less amount as he thinks fit (not exceeding in respect of any one breach the maximum penalty hereinbefore prescribed), or, if he is of opinion that the breach proved against the defendant is trivial or excusable, the action may be dismissed, and in any case he may give such judgment as to costs as he thinks fit.

Every penalty recovered in any such action shall be recovered by the plaintiff to the use of the Crown, and the amount thereof shall, when received by the plaintiff, be paid into the Public Account.

When the plaintiff is any person other than an Inspector of Awards the amount of the penalty shall be paid into Court or to an Inspector of Awards and not to the plaintiff, and shall thereupon be paid by the Clerk of the Court or by the said Inspector into the Public Account.

In any such action the Magistrate may, if he thinks fit, before giving judgment, state a case for the opinion of the Court of Arbitration, and may thereupon adjourn the hearing or determination of the action.

Any party to any such action may appeal to the Court of Arbitration against the judgment of the Magistrate in the cases following:—

Where two or more actions in respect of offences arising out of substantially the same circumstances are taken together, the amount of the claim in any such action shall for the purposes of the last preceding subsection be deemed to be the aggregate of the amount of all such claims.

Except as provided by this section, there shall be no appeal from the judgment of the Magistrate in any such action.

On any appeal under this section the Court of Arbitration shall have the same powers as the Supreme Court has in respect of an appeal from a Magistrate’s Court, and the determination of the Court of Arbitration shall be final.

In respect of any such appeal, sections one hundred and fifty-three to one hundred and fifty-eight and sections one hundred and sixty and one hundred and sixty-one of the Magistrates’ Courts Act, 1908, shall (subject to the provisions of this section) apply, and shall be read as if the references therein to the Supreme Court were references to the Court of Arbitration.

No such action shall be removed into the Supreme Court.

The judgment in any such action shall be enforceable in the same manner as a judgment for debt or damages in the Magistrate’s Court, and in no other manner:

Provided that, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section twenty-seven of the Wages Protection and Contractors’ Liens Act, 1908, where application is made in pursuance of any such judgment for the attachment of the wages of any worker, an order of attachment may be made in respect of the surplus of his wages above the sum of two pounds a week in the case of a worker who is married or is a widower or widow with children, or above the sum of one pound a week in the case of any other worker:

Provided also that, for the purpose of any such application for attachment, all wages which may at any time thereafter become due to the judgment debtor by any employer, although they are not yet earned or owing, and whether they become due in respect of any contract of service existing at the time of the application or made at any later time, shall be deemed to be a debt accruing to the judgment debtor within the meaning of the provisions of the Magistrates’ Courts Act, 1908, relating to the attachment of debts; and on the making of any order of attachment in respect of such wages the employer shall pay into Court from time to time, as those wages become due and payable, such sum as is sufficient to satisfy the charge imposed thereon by the order of attachment:

Provided also that no charge upon or assignment of his wages, whenever or however made, by any worker shall have any force whatever to defeat or affect an attachment, and an order of attachment may be made and shall have effect as if no such charge or assignment existed:

Provided also that no proceedings shall be taken under the Imprisonment for Debt Limitation Act, 1908, against any person for failing or refusing to pay any penalty or other sum of money due by him under this Act.

Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained, any action for the recovery of a penalty under this Act may be brought by an Inspector of Awards in the Court of Arbitration instead of in a Magistrate’s Court.

The decision of the Court of Arbitration in any such action shall be final.

The procedure in actions so brought in the Court of Arbitration shall be determined by regulations to be made by the Governor-General in Council in pursuance of this Act.

The provisions of sections one hundred and thirty-one and one hundred and thirty-two of this Act shall, so far as applicable, extend and apply to any action so brought in the Court of Arbitration, and shall in respect of any such action be read as if every reference in those sections to a Magistrate was a reference to the Court of Arbitration, and as if every reference therein to the Clerk of the Magistrate’s Court was a reference to the Registrar of the Court of Arbitration.

A certificate of the judgment of the Court of Arbitration in any such action, under the hand of the Registrar of that Court, specifying the amount payable under the judgment and the parties thereto, may be filed in any Magistrate’s Court or Magistrates’ Courts, and the said judgment shall thereupon be deemed to be a judgment duly recovered in an action for a penalty under this Act in the Court or in each of the Courts in which a certificate has been so filed, and shall be enforceable in all respects accordingly.

The Governor-General may, by Order in Council, make regulations, consistent with this Act, prescribing the procedure in actions brought under the foregoing provisions of this Act and in appeals to the Court of Arbitration.

When an order for the payment of money is made by the Court of Arbitration, and no other provisions for the enforcement of that order are contained in this Act, a certificate under the hand of the Registrar of the said Court, specifying the amount payable and the persons by and to whom it is payable, may be filed in any Magistrate’s Court, and shall thereupon be enforceable in the like manner as a judgment given by the last-mentioned Court in an action for the recovery of a debt.

If in any action judgment is given under the foregoing provisions of this Act, whether by a Magistrate’s Court or by the Court of Arbitration, against an industrial union or industrial association, and is not fully satisfied within one month thereafter, all persons who were members of the said industrial union or industrial association at the time when the offence was committed in respect of which the judgment was given shall be jointly and severally liable on the judgment in the same manner as if it had been obtained against them personally, and all proceedings in execution or otherwise in pursuance of the judgment may be taken against them or any of them accordingly, save that no person shall be liable under this section for a larger sum than five pounds.

Judgment recovered at the suit of any person for a penalty under this Act shall not, until and unless it is fully satisfied, be a bar to any other action at the suit of any other plaintiff for the recovery of the same penalty.

No action shall be commenced for the recovery of any penalty under this Part of this Act save within six months after the cause of action has arisen.

With respect to the Government railways open for traffic the following special provisions shall apply, anything elsewhere in this Act to the contrary notwithstanding:—

Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants deemed registered.

May enter into industrial agreement with Minister.

Procedure in case of disputes.

Jurisdiction of Court.

The societies of railway servants called respectively “The Engine-drivers, Firemen, and Cleaners Association” and “The New Zealand Railway Tradesmen’s Association” shall also be deemed to be registered under this Act, and the provisions of paragraphs (b) to (n) of the last preceding subsection shall, with the necessary modifications, apply with respect to the said associations.

No person shall be required to pay an entrance fee or other fee exceeding five shillings on his admission, or as a condition of his admission, as a member of any industrial union of workers, or of a society of workers bound by an agreement under section eight of the Labour Disputes Investigation Act, 1913, and no subscription exceeding one shilling per week and no levy or other charge shall be or become payable by any member until the expiration of at Least one month after he has become a member.

No levy shall be payable by any member of a union save in accordance with the decision of the union expressed at a ballot taken on a proposal to charge such levy. For the purposes of this subsection a proposal shall be deemed to be carried only if a majority of the valid votes recorded at the ballot is in favour thereof.

Any sums paid by a member of any such union or society in contravention of this section may be recovered by him or by an Inspector of Awards on his behalf as a debt due to him by the union or society, at any time before the expiration of six months after he has ceased to be a member of the union or society.

Every industrial union or industrial association, and every society bound by an agreement under section eight of the Labour Disputes Investigation Act, 1913, shall keep in proper form a correct account of its receipts and payments.

The Registrar may at any time and from time to time, if he has reason to believe that any accounts have not been properly kept or that any moneys have been misappropriated, require any union, association, or society as aforesaid to submit its accounts to a public auditor appointed as such under the Friendly Societies Act, 1909, and it shall be the duty of the union, association, or society to submit its accounts for audit accordingly. In respect of the audit so directed the auditor shall have and may exercise all the powers and duties conferred upon auditors by section thirty-five of the last-mentioned Act.

Every union, association, or society which makes default in complying with any of the provisions of this section, and every officer of any such union, association, or society so making default, is liable on summary conviction to a fine of five pounds for every day or part of a day during which such default continues.

Every person who wilfully makes or orders to be made any false entry in or any omission from any books of account is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds for each offence.

Where in any award provision is made for the issue of a permit to any worker to accept a wage below that prescribed for ordinary workers in the trade to which the award relates the following provisions shall apply:—

When any payment of wages has been made to and accepted by a worker at a less rate than that which is fixed by any award or industrial agreement, no action shall be brought by the worker against his employer to recover the difference between the wages so actually paid and the wages legally payable, save within six months after the day on which the wages claimed in the action became due and payable.

Where by any award or industrial agreement the age at which young persons may be employed is limited, or the wages payable to young persons of certain ages are fixed, then, in so far as the employer is concerned, it shall be sufficient proof of the age of any young person desiring employment if he produces to the employer a certificate of age granted by an official of the Labour Department; and in any proceedings against an employer who has acted in reliance on any such certificate for a breach of the award or industrial agreement the certificate shall be conclusive proof of the age of the young person so employed.

In the case of any factory or shop to which any award or industrial agreement relates, a printed or typewritten copy of the award or industrial agreement shall at all times be kept affixed in some conspicuous place at or near the entrance of the factory or shop, in such a position as to be easily read by the persons employed therein.

For any breach of the provisions of this section the occupier of the said factory or shop shall be liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds on summary conviction on the information of an Inspector of Awards.

In this section the terms “factory” and “shop” have the same meaning as in the Factories Act, 1921–22, and the Shops and Offices Act, 1921–22, respectively.

Whenever any portion of a district is severed therefrom and either added to another district or constituted a new district or part of a new district, every award and industrial agreement in force in the district from which such portion is severed shall, so far as it is in force in such portion, remain in force therein until superseded by another award or industrial agreement.

No award of the Court shall contain any provision that is inconsistent with any statute which makes special provision for any of the matters before the Court.

The provisions of an award or industrial agreement shall continue in force until the expiration of the period for which it was made, notwithstanding that before such expiration any provision inconsistent with the award or industrial agreement is made by any Act passed after the commencement of this Act, unless in that Act the contrary is expressly provided.

On the expiration of the said period the award or industrial agreement shall, during its further subsistence, be deemed to be modified in accordance with the law then in force.

Every award or industrial agreement shall prevail over any contract of service or apprenticeship in force on the coming into operation of the award or industrial agreement, so far as there is any inconsistency between the award or industrial agreement and the contract; and the contract shall thereafter be construed and have effect as if the same had been modified, so far as necessary, in order to conform to the award or industrial agreement.

When an industrial dispute has been referred to the Court the Court may, if it considers that for any reason an award ought not to be made in the matter of that dispute, refuse to make an award therein.

No award or industrial agreement made after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and nine, shall affect the employment of any worker who is employed otherwise than for the direct or indirect pecuniary gain of the employer:

Provided that this section shall not be deemed to exempt any local authority or body corporate from the operation of any award or industial agreement.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the foregoing provisions of this Act,—

On any application made pursuant to paragraph (a) of the last preceding subsection the Court may apply the award, with such modifications or variations (if any) as it thinks fit, to such County Council or Road Board, as the case may be.

If anything which is required or authorized to be done by this Act is not done within the time limited for the doing thereof, or is done informally, the Court of Arbitration may, if it thinks fit in its discretion, on the application of any person interested, make an order extending the time within which the thing may be done, or validating the thing so informally done.

Nothing in this section shall apply so as to authorize the Court of Arbitration to make any such order in respect of judicial proceedings theretofore already instituted in any Court other than the Court of Arbitration.

Any notification made or purporting to be made in the Gazette by or under the authority of this Act may be given in evidence in all Courts of justice, in all legal proceedings, and for any of the purposes of this Act by the production of a copy of the Gazette.

Every document bearing the seal of the Court shall be received in evidence without further proof, and the signature of the Judge of the Court, or a Commissioner, or the Registrar, or the Clerk of Awards, shall be judicially noticed in or before any Court or before any person or officer acting judicially or under any power or authority contained in this Act:

Provided such signature is attached to some award, order, certificate, or other official document made or purporting to be made under this Act or any enactment mentioned in the Schedule hereto.

No proof shall be required of the handwriting or official position of any person acting in pursuance of this section.

No person shall serve or cause to be served on Sunday any order or other process of the Court, and such service shall be void to all intents and purposes whatsoever.

Every person who commits a breach of this section is liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds, to be recovered in a summary way under the Justices of the Peace Act, 1908.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to annul, repeal, or in any way affect the common law, or the provisions of any statute or rule of practice or procedure, now or hereafter in force, authorizing the service of any writ, process, or warrant.

The Governor-General may from time to time make regulations for any of the following purposes:—

All such regulations shall come into force on the date of the gazetting thereof, and shall, within fourteen days after such gazetting, be laid before Parliament if in session, or if not in session, then within fourteen days after the beginning of the next session.

Nothing in this Act or the regulations thereunder shall supersede any fees payable by law in respect of proceedings under the Justices of the Peace Act, 1908, or in any Court of judicature.

Except as provided by subsection four of section sixty-four and subsection two of section seventy-three hereof, all charges and expenses incurred by the Government in connection with the administration of this Act shall be defrayed out of such annual appropriations as from time to time are made for that purpose by Parliament.

No stamp duty shall be payable upon or in respect of any registration, certificate, agreement, award, statutory declaration, or instrument effected, issued, or made under this Act:

Provided that nothing in this section shall apply to the fees of any Court payable by means of stamps.

Except as provided by section one hundred and forty-two hereof, or by the special provisions of any other Act, nothing in this Act shall apply to the Crown or to any Department of the Government of New Zealand.

The enactments mentioned in the Schedule hereto are hereby repealed, and with respect to those enactments the following provisions shall apply:—