Mr. Nash Tells Workers About Costs Spiral

Chronicle (Levin), 5 March 1949, Page 5

Mr. Nash Tells Workers About Costs Spiral

Press Association) '

(Per

AUCKLAND, March 4. The Mimster of Finance, Mr. Nash, joined in at a meeting of "the Auckland Trades Council "tdnight in a discussion for -an application for a general wage increase, with a warning to the workers that they would r.ot necessarily reap and long term benefit from the granting jf increased pay. The main business of the meeting was lo hear a report by the secretary of the Federation of Labour, Mr. K. MeL. Baxter, on reasons for th.e delay in the .ipplication to the Arbitration Court for an increase. Marked by heated exc'hanges and the crossing-of swords between Mr. Nash and Mr. A. Drennan, representing tht Waterside Workers' Union, on the part: played in negotiations by the Minister of Labour (Mr. MeLagan), the meet ing showed a sharp division of opinion. on the wage increase which should be sought. However, a motion thanldug. Mr. Baxter for his address and exprssing 'Confidence in the national council' of the Federation of Labour, was car ried. ' ' The workers of this country are •>! per cent better off today than they were. when this Government came into office," said Mr. Nash. "They hav64 per cent. more services, goods anl cultural things of life than they have ever had before. I will ask anybody to prove they are worse ofE today than in 1935-36," said Mr. Nash. "No other country in the world was comparable with New Zealand. If one wanted to fmd the workers' share ot the national income, one had to adcl the interest on savings bank money and the fact that workers at the age of 6U reeeived £4 10s a week. ^Tliat man could have £500 in the bank, earn £1 a week and own his home. • "You want more money," said Mr. Nash. "Iara as keen as any person ean be to lift those on the lower level to higher levels. 1 want to get morn money for the general labourer and im prove the position of those on low incomes. That is why we have given more of the benelits of social security to the lower income levels thau elsewhere. ' ' If there is a way of giving a greater share of t'he national income to the worker under the present economie system, then I want to help to do it, " •said Mr. Nash. "However, a rise of £3 a week will run to £30,000 in total. "Everyone who is producing a commodity fciiowB that what is paid to them will go on to the price of that commodity. It will inevitably do that and thus inevitably the worker is worse off rather than better off. "It is our job to make sure that added production when it comes into being is fairly shared, " said Mr. Nash. "Whatever inereases come from the Arbitration Court must go to the worker on the farm. If it goes to him and he gets more and we do not get any more money for our produce, then gradually the reserves we have got will decline. "If the worker on the trams or other public utilities gets an increase, the rates will have to go up. If he works in the Government I would have to take more money from you to pay for it. It would cost £500,000 to keep milk at the same price that it is today." When an interjector in the hall asked why taxation was not increased, Mr. Nash asked if anyone thought it practicable to increase taxation this yeax or next and still xemain the Government. & "I think that if we are going to insist that, because the bottom dog gets so much more, the man who is next to him is to go higher, then we will never get anywhere," said Mr. Nash.