Conciliation processes

Abstract

The purpose of this introductory chapter is to place the Conciliation Council in its historical and legal setting in order that the subsequent discussion of the dynamics of bargaining behaviour in Conciliation may be understood in its New Zealand context. In 1894, when the Royal assent was given to the passing of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act by the General Assembly of New Zealand in Parliament assembled, the proponent of that legislation, the Hon. W. Pember Reeves achieved a triumph that made his name famous to all students of social science and industrial relations. In this Act, Pember Reeves introduced the first state system in the world for compulsory conciliation and arbitration for the settlement of industrial disputes.