?(a) The administration of this Article shall be under the general supervision of the Commissioner of Labor of North Carolina.

?(b) There is hereby established in the Department of Labor an arbitration service. The Commissioner of Labor may appoint such employees as may be required for the consummation of the work under this Article, prescribe their duties and fix their compensation, subject to existing laws applicable to the appointment and compensation of employees of the State of North Carolina. Any member of or employee in the arbitration service may be removed from office by the Commissioner of Labor, acting in his discretion.

?(c) The Commissioner of Labor, with the written approval of the Attorney General as to legality, shall have power to adopt, alter, amend or repeal appropriate rules of procedure for selection of the arbitrator or panel and for conduct of the arbitration proceedings in? accordance with this Article: Provided, however, that such rules shall be inapplicable to the extent that they are inconsistent with the arbitration agreement of the parties. (1945, c. 1045, s. 3; 1951, c. 1103, s. 1.)