The commission, taking the place of the former Industrial Court, offers a free service to parties in labour disputes in order to promote social justice in these cases. It is a remarkable achievement, if it is borne in mind that it takes about four months to take a dispute through conciliation, mediation and arbitration. In the old Industrial Court, cases sometimes dragged on for longer than two years. In this period, the number of commissioners has fallen from 438 to 393 in the latest report year. But there are an increasing number of part-time commissioners, at present about 200, on the payroll.
Commissioners have to deliver their judgments within two weeks after a case has been arbitrated.
And there is no right to appeal against decisions, so it is essential that the judgments should be correct. Ten conciliation interviews are scheduled per day for each commissioner. At present, our staff members are subject to strict time limits, which places them under enormous pressure. Bargaining councils are fortunately playing an increasingly important role in dispute settlement, and 35 bargaining councils have been trained by the commission and accredited to be able to carry out the settlement of disputes themselves in these cases. Another 17 bargaining councils, including the public service, are in the process of being accredited.