"SNOWBALL OF RISING COSTS"

Chronicle (Levin), 26 February 1947, Page 4

"SNOWBALL OF RISING COSTS"

power bgard's posItion reviEw of gh^rgEs likely this year

Statihg' that it hxight be necessary for a review of charges fdr electricity this year, the chairman of the Horowhenua Electric Power Board said yesterday that like every other Business these d!ays increased costs" CoTlid not be met without passing them on. It was jUst anbther ease,. he said, of "add - ing to the' snowball of rising costs." The subj'ect arose from a discussion on the new acaie of wa"ges; for cierfeal' workers ufid'er the Local Authorities Officers' Award,. which , was set out in a letter from the ; Electric 'Power Bbard's' Sdpply . Authorities1 Associati'on and pre- : s'ented at the- monthly . meeting of : the' board' yesterday. Apart from the increases' in wages, th'e board had also' had' to contend' With increasing high costs for materia'ls, said Mr. Monk.When commentihg on -the effect of the award, ethe mana'gihgsecretary, Mr. R. A. Ffederi'ksOn, in his report to the board, said that since November 1945, the added increase in salary and wages fOr employees covered by awards had amounted to £1750 plus a further sum to- cover oYertime and other provisions of the award. "I d'O not think that this is an i'mposition on the feoa'rd," said1 Mr. FredeHkson, "but I do maintain that sooner or later it will' be necessary to increase electricity charges in order to meet the additibhal costs." The increase had been made to bring the cTerical workers covered by the award into alignment with the civil servants, and' in some respects was most Welcome as under the present rate it was impossible to' obtain staff .