asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he is aware that as a result of the frequency of strikes, unemployment in the Saorstát has very much increased; that such stoppages of work are a serious menace to trade, and considerably affect the general economic life of the country, thereby incurring much loss to the working community; if it is his intention to introduce legislation to set up a Conciliation or Arbitration Board, so that when such disputes arise as between employer and employee a more rational way of settling such differences may be available.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - FREQUENCY OF STRIKES AND INCREASED UNEMPLOYMENT.
Strikes and stoppages of work necessarily impede trade and industry, and on that account are to be deplored. My Department has, however, ample powers under existing legislation to provide for arbitration and conciliation wherever the parties to a dispute so desire, and if arbitration and conciliation are to be on a voluntary basis no new legislation is required, unless there is agreement that legislation on the lines of the Canadian Act discussed yesterday is advisable. Compulsory arbitration would be a departure not likely to prove a success in advance of a general public opinion in its favour of which I have at present no evidence.
Can the Minister say, from the information at his disposal, how many strikes have, in fact, occurred within the past year; what number of days of labour have been lost, and how those returns compared with the loss in days of labour in other countries?
I am sure I could get all that information, but I have certainly not got it at the moment.