(1) The Court may appoint officers of the Court to act as industrial relations officers (and officers so appointed shall be known as industrial relations officers) and any reference in the Principal Act to a conciliation officer shall be construed as a reference to an industrial relations officer.
(2) Industrial relations officers shall perform any duties assigned to them by the Court or the chairman and, in particular, they shall assist in the prevention and settlement of trade disputes and in the establishment and maintenance of means for conducting voluntary negotiations between employers and workers either generally or in particular industries or particular areas or between particular employers and their workers.