REGENT WAGE INCREASE

Evening Star, Issue 23682, 16 September 1940, Page 6

REGENT WAGE INCREASE

APPLICATIONS FOR EXEMPTION REFUSED Several decisions of the Arbitration Court have been given in cases where application was made for exemption from the operation of the general order of the court grunting an increase of 5 per cent, in wages. In tho case of pastrycooks, the grounds specified were “that by reason of the economic and financial conditions affecting the industry the imposition of tho 5 per cent, bonus constitutes an unfair burden and a hardship on tho employers.” In refusing the application, tho court stated that it could not accept tho existence of price control, which had been advanced in argument, as an adequate reason for tho exclusion of the workers in tho industry from the operation of tho order. An application by the employers of lime workers, based on somewhat similar grounds, was aflso refused, the court stating that it did not agree that the burden of recent increases was unfair as compared with the position in other industries. An application was also made by the New Zealand County Councils for complete exemption from the order, and by the New Zealand Federated Labourers’ and Related Trades workers for partial exemption, both applications relating to workers coming within the scope of tho local bodies (rural section) labourers' award.

In refusing the former application, the court stated that it could not accept the inference that rural local bodies wore less able to pay the same rates of wages as were paid by urban local authorities for similar services, nor could it subscribe to the view that a worker for a borough council should receive less for tho same class of work than an employee of the adjacent county council. , , Tho grounds of the application of the workers wore: —(1) That 5 per cent, on the already low wages paid these workers will not enable them to live in a reasonable standard of comfort. (2) That the employers are' in a sheltered position and are not subject to any competition from home or abroad. (3) That they are consequently in a position to pay their employees a reasonable wage to maintain them and their families in an adequate standard of comfort. (4) That the employers bound by this award should not, in consequence of their position, seek to pay their employees at a lower level than employers employing similar who are not engaged in competitive industry. The points mentioned in the first three grounds were considered by the court before making the general order, and tho court could not see that any adequate reason had been submitted to justify a variation in treatment of the employees of rural local authorities as compared with the position of the workers generally who were covered by awards or industrial agreements. The fourth ground was not relevant to an application for an increase in rates of remuneration from 5 per cent, to 15 per cent. The court was of opinion that in neither case did the stated grounds justify an order for exclusion.