BANK EMPLOYEES AND THE COST OF LIVING

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 149, 19 March 1919, Page 7

BANK EMPLOYEES AND THE COST OF LIVING

Sir, —-I am a bank clerk, married, with a young and growing family—growing in number, uppctites, and expenses. Jfy wii'o and I hoped that tho end of the war would bring a lessening of the heartbreaking and incessant struggle of endeavouring to make the monthly salary stretch out over tho monthly bills. There has been, needless to say, no possibility of making any provision for tho future, or for contingencies such as sickness. The last year or two of ever-increasing I cost of Hying and of struggling to feed | ami clothe ourselves and our little ones | even on an appreciably lower staudard | than, our modest pre-war one has been a sordid and soul-drugging business. _ It is true that the banks have for some time p-ist been paying their staffs a 10 per cent, war bonus as a set-off to the increand cost of living—and this Ims, of course, been appreciated; but the Government Statistician notwithstanding, the cost of living has been not far short of t'iii times the said bonus. I notice the Government Statistician calculates the in'civim in the cost of clothing, for instance, ufc 13 per cent. If he had a wife and family—and I feel sure he cannot] h<uc—ho would rapidly discover that it was nearer 130 per cent. Also, apparently, he has not had to buy a suit of clothes or a pair of boots lately. But. Sir, is there any sign of the cost of livhg coming down ? Is it likely to come dow.n appreciably for years to co-iie? Will it ever come down to anything approaching pre-war averages? Any sane man realises that wage-earners Hie world over are going to be paid higher wages, and (hat no lowering of existing wages will be tolerated, and as His cost of labour is tho principal ilem in arriving at the price to be paid Ijy the cersumer, what prospect is there of any relief for' me or mine? None, unless bank directors also realise that the lime has come for a revolutionary revision of tho salaries lists, with a view to lifting un their staffs on to an economic piano tint will allow them lo live and to bring lup their families decently. When quo t ro-i'.ls that it is the intention of the Arbitration Court to apparently send up wages of all workers automatically, as tho cost of living increases (is tho Court also going to lower wages should (?) there be .a decrease in the cost of living?) it seems that tho position of bank employees must receive serious consideration. Tho banks are making huge protits and tho staffs; whoso loyal efforts and hard work aro chiefly instrumental in producing those profits, aro surely entitled to such consideration. At one time it was considered a privilege to bo taken on to tho staff of _ a bank—tho salary being fair, the working hours reasonable, and tho prospects to a man of any ability good, and the. position was a respected one in the community.. Much of til's is no longer true. The banks have had to resort to advertisement to obtain applications, and have had to accept what offered. Let the heads of tho banks review the whole position broadly and sympathetically, and see if they cannot again lift up the position of bank employees to its rightful status in tho commercial community. It is ono of special trust, and it is necessary to attract tin best typo of boy offering himself for commercial work. This can only be dono by making a banking career an attractive one by offering better inducements nt the commencement, better pay throughout, hotter and more rapid advancement, and a keener appreciation of ability, and loss favouritism. Any man who cares to inquire will

find a strong and almost universal spirit of discontent and restlessness throughout tho stuffs of tlio banks. It behoves the powers that be to takosomo real stops to remedy this state of affairs. It can bo dono without encroaching: on tho fat dividends of tho shareholder.?. A smaller proportion of tho sums annually devoted to writing-crown non-depreciating assets, to providing for non-existing bad debts, and to adding to reserve funds for the ultimate benefit of the shareholders, would do nil, and more than provido tho needed remedy. It could make the bankiiUf service tho finest in tho Dominion— as it ought to be.-I am, etc., LAUNCELOT.