Government Agency entry Board of Industry (1920 - 1966)

Summary

The South Australian Board of Industry comprised the President and Deputy President of the Industrial Court and 4 Commissioners. One of the Commissioners was nominated by the South Australian Employers’ Federation, one by the South Australian Chamber of Manufactures, and two by the United Trades and Labour Council of South Australia. The functions of the Board of Industry were to recommend the creation or dissolution of industrial boards and to determine their ambit; to adjudicate on demarcation disputes; and to fix prices of commodities under the Fair Prices Act, 1924, if some monopolistic control was shown. Prior to 1950 the Board of Industry also conducted periodic inquiries to fix a State ‘living wage’, but subsequently the wage had been fixed by government proclamation.

Industrial Boards, consisting of a chairman and an equal number of employer and employee representatives, were set up by the Minister of Labour and Industry upon the recommendation of the Board of Industry. Each industrial board made determinations concerning wages and conditions of employment for workers within its particular industry group. The jurisdiction of most boards was confined to the metropolitan area, however, in the case of government and local government employees, determinations generally applied to the whole State.

The Board of Industry was abolished in 1966, its functions (with the exception of demarcation disputes) being taken over by the Industrial Commission.

Related entries

Timeline

 1920 - 1966 Board of Industry
       1966 - Industrial Commission of South Australia