WAGES & COST OF LIVING

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 139, 7 March 1919, Page 6

WAGES & COST OF LIVING

HASTY LEGISLATION

BAD EFFECT OF A MANDATORY CLAUSE

IMPORTANT JUDGMENT

The Arbitration Court was approached recently by the furniture workers, plumbers and gasfitters, carpenters and joiners, Wellington coachworkers, iron and brassworkers, and others for increases i:t wages, the applications being based on the Amending Act which was put through Parliament during the rush hours of last session. The amending clause apparently did not receive full consideration from those responsible for it, and iho Arbitration Court has taken it'to bo mandatory, for the clause provides that tho Court dealing with applications for amendments of awards and increases of wages "shall" lake into consideration the _ question of the increased cost of living. The Court's Decision, The decision of the Court in respect to the applications recently heard is as follows:— . , ~ , _, Under the War Legislation and Statute Law Amendment Act, 1018, power is given to the Arbitration Court, on the°application of any party to an award or industrial agreement, to emend tho provisions of any such award or industrial agreement so far as euch provisions determine the hours of employment or the rates of remuneration of any work-

In exercising tile powers thus conferred upon it, the Court is directed to take into consideration—(a) Any alteration, since the. date of the award or agreement, in the conditions affecting the industry or industries to which such award or agreement relates; and (b) any increase, since the date of the award or agreement, in the cost of living affecting Hie workers, or any class of workers, engaged in such industry or industries; and if, having regard to these and other relevant considerations, the Coiwt is of opinion that it k just and equitable I to amend the award or agreements it is directed to amend the same accordingly. Applications under the Act have now ■been made for amendments of the abovemen tioned awards, at the hearing of which the only relevant consideration brought under the notice tf the Court was that of the increase in the cost of living since the respective dates of the awards. Information on this question was furnished by Mr. Malcolm Eraser, the Government Statistician, who attended in person and gave evidence, and also supplied the Court with tabulated statement.? showing how the increases in the co't of living had affected workers m the different industries covered by the awards under consideration, and what amounts were required in order to bring up the wages fixed by those award? to the same purchasing power ao they fiesred at the time flie awards .were made.

Court's Attitude in the Past. , In the past the Court, has not acceded to the demands of the workers to increase- wages in the samo ratio as the increased cost of living, as it considered that a* such increased cost of living was mainly attributable to the war, and therefore that workers, or at least those who were receiving substantially more, than a. mere living wage, could and should bear a portion of the burden imposed by the war upon the- community generally and ought not to expect to be fully exonerated from their share of smell burden, which could only be done •by throwing an increased burden upon other members of the community who were already bearing their fair share of such burden. In the result, as appears from the statistics, notwithstanding several increases granted 'by the Cmirt. during (ho war to workers in different, industries, they are now in a worso posiiton financially than they were at the outbreak of the war, inasmuch ns their irea.l, as distinguished from their nominal, wages have been reduced. Wage Increases Granted. The Court, however, interprets the recent statute to mean that, in the absence of any countervailing consideration, which was not shown to exist in any of the cases before the Court, the wages'of workers should, for the future, be increased in correspondence with the increase, since the making Of the several awards, in the. cost of living. The Court has acted upon this now m the cases under consideration, and has 'therefore granted increases in wages, making them approximately equal in purchasing power to the existing wages at the time the latter were granted. J Ins has been effected by placing all the workers in the trades aifwted—all ot which aro skilled tradee-on the same footing as to wipes ns the Court thinks thev should be. The Court has thorofore fived a flat rate of Is. 7id. per hour for all these skilled workers, and has irrnnted in addition thereto a bonus of 2!, d. per hour, which may be varied from time to time according to circumstances.

Effect on Cost of Living. It is certain that workers in other industries than those now being dealt with will, in the course of time, mako application to the Court for amendment of their awards, similar to tnoso now made, and.a general increase in the wages of workers may therefore ue expected. ' It is inevitable that the effect of these increases will bo reflected, and probably in a magnified form, in further increases in tho cost ot living, if. ]ro other and more potent factors in yaisinß Ike cost of living remain m full forcb and effect. Unless, therefore, the uist of tho necessaries of life is reduced as a result of the cessation of the war ..or, failing that, unless the price-controlling authorities, the Government and the Board of Trade, are able to devise and enforce some method of preventing turther increases in the price of such necessaries, the Court will again and again be asked to amend its awards and increase wages in conformity with the everincreasing cost of living:. The Danger to Industries.

It is obvious that the continual increase of wages of organised workers throu-'h the medium of the Court, which results in these workers obtaining partial and often only temporary relief, largely at the expense of members of the" community with fixed incomes, and of unorganised workers who are vmablo to claim the intervention of the Court, cannot continue indefinitely,, and that, sooner or later, many industries mar become unnroHtable and cease operations, with thcT result that many workers may be thrown out of employment. .If,ll* most undesirable consummation is to be avoided, the means of doing so must be found by the legislature, as the Court is powerless in the matter? Future Course of Action. \s, under the Act, it i<s permitted for inv party to an award or uulus rial agreement at any time to make application for an amendment of the existing aw ml or agreement it is necessary to stato that tho Court would not feel disced to entertain any application in reflect of the awards now being dealt with either by employers seeking to relice wa-es or by workers seeking to inen«so wages, unless there was shown to l>9 a subshntinl alteration in the condiUon« affecting the industry concerned, or a further substantial variation in tho present cost of living. extending over a substantial period of time.