REDUCING WAGES

Hokitika Guardian, 22 February 1921, Page 2

REDUCING WAGES

(Mercantile Gazette) The house-building programme forced upon the country owing to the cessation of building operations during the war enabled the carpenters to ask and obtain a fancy wage for their restricted and in some eases indifferent services. In Wellington City and suburbs carpenters have been able "to command 3s per hour and they were assisted—and effectively, assisted—by the building contractors, who keenly hid against one another for the services of any any and every kind of carpenter. The high cost of ' erecting buildings checked enterprise in this direction,... —' and now that the first rush of buildings that had to be erected at all costs are nearing completion, tlie position anti circumstances of the building cont rectors has altered greatly. They were able to come together, discuss matters, and agree upon certain co-opera-tive measures for dealing with the labour problem. The builders were anxious to have the building costs reduced, and as a step in accomplishment of this they decided that the wages of carpenters should he reduced by 3d per hour. The carpenters, on the other hand, were labouring under the delusion that condiions still favoured them, and at their special meeting they resolved upon asking for an additional 3d per' V hour, making tlie wage rate 3s 3d per hour. This demand was met by the em- * plovers notifying that the wages would be 2s 9d per hour, which even then would be very much above the award rate. The matter stands at that point except that in addition to 3/3 per hour JptL the carpenters want to work only 40 V hours, or five days in the week, which would leave them with, say a. Saturday to exploit their neighbours, friends and (be public in doing odd jobs at a fancy wage rate. The outcome of this dispute will be watched by the people, who" are very much interested in the matter.

Tlh> labour position is not as brilliant as the workers think it is. There is already unemployment in some branches of the industry where last year there was a shortage of labour. Much as we may regret it, unemployment is bound to increase, because the lower prices of merchandise will curtail profits and expenses must be cut ' ■ down ;to' meet the situation. In the clothing and drapery trades and in the boot industry there is unemployment, and unless the people resume buying goods as freely as, say, last year, tho position will become worse. The people are not buying freely because the impression is prevalent that prices will go lower. Owing to the imperative necessity for curtailing imports, it is certain that there will be less work on the wharves presently. Yet this is moment the wharf labourers choose to become restless. must come \ down in sympathy with the fall in the values of commodities and the changed economic conditions, and if the reductions are not voluntarily accepted they will be enforced through unemployment. That is inevitable, ’ and that is what we are moving towards. The reduction in wages must be felt in the Civil Service—indeed, if the Statistician’s figures disclose a reduction in tho cost of living, a corresponding reduction must be made in the Government service, beginning with the salaries of members of Parliament, Avliose services, are valued by themselves at a ll much too high a rate. There is a rumour current that after March 31 there will be some reductions made in Government salaries, and possibly economies in various departments. The latter is duo to the public, who are feeling the burden of taxation somewhat seriously. The posi- , tion, briefly stated, is that the tendency tfr is to reach tho pre-war level of prices * for commodities—some (have already reached that level—and it cannot be supposed that wages can remain at tho war level and commodities drop to the pre-war level. That would be absurd. There must be a sympathetic fall in wages, and* nothing can stop that.