AGY-472 | Industrial Court

Full description

The Industrial Court was established in place of the Court of Arbitration on 1 July 1908 under the Industrial Disputes Act No. 3 of 1908.(1) The Court was constituted by a judge who was either a Supreme or District Court Judge appointed by the Governor.(2) The judge could sit with or without assessors, who were elected by the parties to a dispute.(3) While under the Industrial Arbitration Act, 1901 (Act No 59, 1901) the existence of a dispute needed to be proved before the court could regulate the conditions of an industry, the Industrial Disputes Act, 1908 gave the court power to determine the conditions of employment in all industries. In addition, an award was no longer limited to Industrial Unions and their members. (4) In order to alleviate the congestion caused by the single court system the Act provided for the setting up of Industrial Boards.(5) Upon application to the Industrial Court a recommendation was made to the Minister as to whether a Board should be constituted for a particular industry group. An Industrial Board consisted of a chairman and between two and ten members, employers and employees being equally represented.(6) Industrial Boards had the jurisdiction to hear a dispute referred by the Industrial Court or an application from a group of employees or employers in the industry for which the board had been constituted.(7) The Industrial Court was dissolved on 18 April 1912 by the Industrial Arbitration Act No.17 of 1912 and replaced by the Court of Industrial Arbitration.(8) FOOTNOTES: (1)NSW Government Gazette, No.67, 10 June 1908, p3119 (2)Industrial Disputes Act No.3 of 1908 (Section 13, I-II) (3)ibid.,(Section 13(1)) (4)Department of Labour & Industry, Annual Report,1918, Parliamentary Papers, Vol. 1, 1919, p508 (5)ibid., (6)Industrial Disputes Act No.3 of 1908 (Sections 14-15) (7)ibid.,(Section 26) (8)NSW Government Gazette, No.56, 17 April 1912, p2170 REFERENCES Blue Books (Public Service Lists) 1858 - 1960, Sydney, Government Printer, 1908-1912 New South Wales Government Gazette. Sydney, Government Printer, 1908 - 1912 Department of Labour and Industry, Annual Report, 1918 Industrial Disputes Act No.3 of 1908 Industrial Arbitration Act No.17 of 1912