BASIS OF WAGES

Hokitika Guardian, 7 October 1931, Page 8

BASIS OF WAGES

A CHANCE SUGGESTED. POSSIBLE SOLUTION OF THE TROUBLES. CHRISTCHURCH, Oct. 5 That the basis of wages should i»e determined by export prices and not pn the standard ot consumption was the argument stated, by the chairman oi directors (Mr James Stevenson) in headdress before the New Zealand Farmers’ Co-operative Association of Canterbury, Ltd., uu Saturday morning. Mr* Stevenson suggested that this change in the basis of wages might solve tire major economic difficulties of the Dominion ‘‘l am persuaded that a possible solution of our main difficulties could be found in the co-relation to an index of export prices of our main costs and expenses, such as interest, rents, taxation and wages,” said Mr Stevenson. ‘‘lt be objected that we have tried the fixation of wages on a prewar cost of living index and this has broken down. I think the index of the cost of living was an incorrect basis as the cost of living is largely governed by wages, and to fix wages on a stun dard of consumption instead ot a stan dard of the value of production, is unsound THE TRUE BASIS. ‘‘The true basis of our living and of our whole economic structure in New Zealand is the index of our exp rr prices in relation to all other p.ices and costs. If, therefore, we could de vise an annual adjustment of the relationship between what we receive per unit of our primary produce which is exported and our other internal unit payments, we could at least have a working basis of reasonably general equality within which each trade and business could adjust itself' with its own variations. External interest would need to remain outs.de tins plan. Other stubborn items of expense which would probably need some time to adjust would be import duties and other taxation both general and local.

‘‘This idea is being expressed and examined by business men in various parts of the world, and probably there is no country in which it would work more suitably than this Dominion, whose welfare depends entire'v on the prices it receives for its primary products. Its acceptance and application would result in new hope for our main industries, larger production, and more employment through an equitahl • adjustment of the relationships of everyone getting a living in the Dominion, with the actual source and basis of its wealth, 'i TOO MUCH REGULATION. “No civilised community to-day permits go-as-you-please for its nationals. On the contrary there is too much and too partial regulation and control. A generally order-eel system of the widest character governed only by the fundamntal basis of dur prosperity—which is nothing else than the prices we receive for our produce—seems to be equitable if we are to develop, and essential if we are to avoid disaster.

“I am not suggesting more Governmental machinery and control, but a great deal less than we have at present. i

My suggestion is that without waiting for increase in prices which rcav not come for years, we at once accept the fact that every one of our financial responsibilities and commitments and levels of expense which we can control inernally should be brought into relationship with our present-day levels of prices, regardless of every other considration, and that etery legis. it; ve interference with this revision should be modified so as to permit it. “After that) if‘and when our prices improve, all these other subsidiary matters —still kept subidiary, however, —would improve in proportion to our returns. Probably it required a situation like the pesent one to give us the costly fetters on industry with which we have increasingly loaded ourselves.