HC Deb 07 March 1923 vol 161 c485
63. Commander BELLAIRS

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that we have now 12 years' experience of the, Canadian Arbitration Act, as amended in 1910, and applied to means of communication and mines; and, in view of its success in preventing strikes and lock-outs as compared with the state of affairs in Great Britain in the same period, whether the question of applying similar legislation to this country has been considered?

Sir M. BARLOW

The working of the Canadian Industrial Disputes Investigation Act has been closely watched, but available statistics do not indicate that it has achieved that measure of success which my hon. and gallant Friend suggests. I may perhaps point out that in this country the power to hold an independent court of inquiry in appropriate cases, when the parties to a dispute are unable to adjust the difference, is already contained in the Industrial Courts Act, and I do not consider that the present powers for securing the settlement of industrial disputes require to be extended in the manner proposed.