Third Party Intervention in New Zealand: Part I
| Pages | 3-8 |
| Date | 01 April 1989 |
| Published date | 01 April 1989 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01425458910133978 |
| Author | John Harris |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
THIRD PARTY INTERVENTION IN
NEW ZEALAND: PART I
by John Harris
Polytechnic of Central London
This is the first of two linked articles about the operation of third party intervention in New
Zealand and is based on experience gained during a period spent working in that country.
The Government introduced major changes into the industrial relations system when the
Labour Relations Act (LRA) was placed on the Statute Book on 1 August 1987. This Act
will have far-reaching implications on the practice of industrial relations. This first article will
deal with the background to the changes that have occurred, the question of union registration,
the role and function of the Arbitration Commission and the Labour Court, and the purpose
of Compliance Orders.
I have been interested in the process of mediation
and arbitration for many years through my work as
a member of the Advisory, Conciliation and
Arbitration Service (ACAS), panel of independent
arbitrators. In recent years there have been new
developments in the area of third party intervention,
for example, the introduction of single-union
pendulum arbitration agreements that have been
negotiated by a number of unions, notable among
them being the Electrical, Electronic Tele-
communications and Plumbing Union (EETPU), and
the Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU).
Moreover, there has been much discussion about
the use of binding arbitration as a means of
preventing disruption in essential industries.
In the field of personal grievances there is evidence
to suggest that many trade unions are concerned
about the deficiencies of the industrial tribunal
system.
This concern is supported by research
carried out by Dickens et a/.[1] which suggests that
an arbitral system may be better suited to the
settlement of personal grievances.
When considering developments in other countries
my thoughts turned to New Zealand since that
country has a long history in the use of conciliation
and compulsory arbitration. I was fortunate in being
able to observe the New Zealand system at first
hand:
having spent a period of some four months
on secondment as an Advisory Officer with the
Department of Labour, the major part of the time
being spent with the Industrial Mediation Service.
Legislation relating to conciliation and arbitration
was first introduced in New Zealand and in Great
Britain at about the same time in the late nine-
teenth century: by way of the Industrial Conciliation
Act 1894 (ICA) in New Zealand and the Concilia-
tion and Arbitration Act 1896 (CAA) in Great Britain.
However, whilst Britain went along the voluntarist
path of industrial relations, a much more legalistic
approach was adopted in New Zealand.
In recent years New Zealand has suffered a poor
economic performance relative to other countries.
For example, in 1965 its Gross Domestic Product
(the value of all goods and services produced in
the economy) per head of the population placed
the country third in the world. By the mid-1970s,
because of the loss of overseas markets and due
to the rapid increase in world oil prices, New
Zealand was nineteenth. By the mid-1980s, the
position had worsened[2]. In such circumstances
there has been much pressure for change.
In response to this pressure the Government has
taken major steps to "free-up" and to reform the
economy with the intention of improving the
country's relative economic performance. The
Government took the view that it is essential that
the parties to industrial relations should alter their
practices and procedures if they are to respond
effectively to the changes that are taking place.
It was the view of the New Zealand government
that in a number of countries the failure of union
and employer organisations to adapt to economic
reform has reduced their influence. The Government
considered that the social and economic cost of
such failure would be undesirable, and did not want
the same trend to develop in New Zealand.
Therefore, in addition to major changes in the
economic management of New Zealand major
alterations to the system of industrial relations and
the process of third party intervention were
introduced when the Labour Relations Act (LRA)
was passed on 1 August, 1987.
Important among the intentions of those who
drafted the legislation are:
ER 11,4
1989
3
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