BASIC WAGE IN AUSTRALIA

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 135, 24 June 1937, Page 7

BASIC WAGE IN AUSTRALIA

-Ff6NS Assa.—

Exlra £6,250,000 To Workers COURT'S DECISION

(By Telegiaoh—

coewight.)

MSESOtfSNl, June 33. iMtUiea in fho basie wage, avefftging Ss fdf all Statea eevetiag workets h&der Eedfefal awftrds, mu g?&ated by the GdihffiOttWeaith Ai-bitration d6urt to4ay. Thhg ti© baiie wage la Sydney flies to |3 iSsj Meiboufhe to £3 15s, Adeiaide to is i2s, Peffch to £3 14s, Rbbftft to £3 14s, »ad BrlsBhne to £3 14s. ThO Court's judginent, which was unanimous, affects nearly the whole of the metal trades industfy, most of the State trahsport workers and manufad' tufifig iaterests. ri?he ra tio of Workers intetested ifl Now South WalOS is abdht six in every ten. Tke feaainder fire under State iWatds. 'fhe inoreaie is e&timated to coat the New South wales Government an extra £5O0,OO0O annually. A hurried estiniate by tho Conimonweaith statistieian is that the workers Ifl jlhe Coininonwealth will betieflt by £6,350,000 a yeaf. 0?he iherease is to be applied in twd secfcioni in order not to bear too heayily oa industry. Half will be paid in the krst pay iii July and the other half froiS. the itfSt pay in Ofitobef. $he iherease in the eases of Sydaey, Melbourne and Brisbane amotiht to Six ehlllingB a week and in the edses of AdOiaide, Perth and Hobart 4s. About 306,000 persons wili be affected iii the Commonwealth. Maritiihe workerS, who recSive 111ureasfis of £1 IS 6d a month, together \yith pastoral hfld gas empioyees, wiU reeeive the whole inerease as frota the flrst pay in Jnly. Shearers and station hands' rates have been raised aJJ round. tfhe doiirt, in announcing the " deeisiOJij Said: "After grave consideration we areaof the opinion that the present degree oi prosperity in the Commonwealth and the existing ciretiastanees of indllStfy make it desirable that there shOuld be an appreciable increase in the basic wage."