BASIC WAGE

Hokitika Guardian, 17 August 1932, Page 8

BASIC WAGE

NEW SOUTH WALES INQUIRY,

TO BE RAISED OR LOWERED

SYDNEY, July 30

The investigation 'of the' basic ‘wtigo is progressing slowly but surely - u nder the iscrut'. f rty ; of three judges," Wlm are evidently ' all • Very much • * ihe importance of their task. Briefly, the employers for the most-part w<jnt to-see the--basic wage reduced,; and fit workers’ 'representatives demand- that it shall be raised, and both sides " are producing great masses - of- evidence ir. support of their contentions. The spokesmen for the workers Are inclined to regard ail previous estimates of basic.

ages, purchasing .power And- cOst./vof' living as erroneous,;-but the judges ire not at all disposed to “scrap” past records arid startr-all over agapn.

Some of the discussions have been ;uite technical, and the experts h#.ye made, great play ‘with “Mbdammaln’ —which is not a • foreign expletive or a synthetic drug, but a wage* scale, deriving its name -from a combination oi

•re 'words' ■“modern adult mal e ‘"maintenance'.”''Tt has betn"described as-‘- ! « scale 'of the relative general-' maijjftehmce requirements of famHies’ijof various sizes at as given standard'/of living.’; iiat moist ' people refuse' to 'ibeiirilnterested in it, and have • found '.some conso-

ition for the monotony of’.the proceedings, in the occasional flashes of judicial humour and the interesting ■ nriety of claims advanced on behalf •f- various classes of "wage-earners. >

“BASIC BEER.”- • “J',',-. -

Curiously enough, the most eofrt.pl .ated and ingenious '.sehedu/e' of • X juirements,., to form the basis, of, ,th l ' jving wage/"-irnS put forward not. b; he ordinary workers’ representative itt by the spokesman of the .Federate! Clerks’ Union. He had ready wlong/eCini ■■Native -'listp setting : otit thb'’ dA%isi-o ! married men and 1 women, boy, and,- gif stenographers; *'and '.‘factory I igirlsi -Fd the woman he required the services,. o: ‘lnundry help” once - =in ‘two;-‘Weeks, id this tabie also .as nepesvaries', bathrobe, ' kimono And/ aprons ith , special,/allowance v for > “confectionery and' gifts;” ' For ther;girl s /thc r e, t of “gymnas : um b’ooineqs,’’/. and Christmas toys”' -is included.,?/ with daonos of silk or Japanese crepe. Refreshments are put down to the exMt of “three pints of beer a week” For the-men,--but not,-as ■ one of the judges regretfully pointed out, for the irl; stenographers. •« u'r , ■The judges ' were evidently / hither '.yritified by some-.of the ream, powder,'; manicure accessories, rd lingerie; <but they-,fastened On the 'three pints ;of. beer ! ’- >a s . iangiMe and retfil,- Thei^cjaiin..-/for hi sic 'b'eer,” as -'it is now affectionate- < y termed^' was also: spokesman of the MunicipalaJCnaployees’ Union,-aw ho 'apparently ;.de§ired - to?'>'dismiss -the possible increaseVJJWdrankeair n -ss, but was 'checked.,one of .the. hedges, •tvho;:!finfar-nHedi(ihim, with/bc-■om-ing gravity,; hhat- ,-:he roeed apt;,, yttemxious about- thef ‘‘-effects .'of -.three pints a week. - ??■"■ LADY ASSESSORS. • * ' ’ V ■ ■ Jut the judges were even no re interested in . the \ suggastio- that/ - haying -,’gard ; -to -the claims., of, women, it would"be -well-dor two ladies to - be: appointed ‘assessors to-ait on the Bench, he president, .-/.the, oldest and tgrayest bf the three .'judges, asked , plaintively; “Why-i-not- make “it three assessors? 'Give us one each.',” .But Mr- Vvihiams*... for the Federated Clerks, 1 was quite equal to the occasion. .‘SI-.,. Would nqfchave ..thought- that., -your Honor,;: would want - one,’’was -his answer,and -the. court" collapsed—in helpless ■daughter. ,f *' -Mr Williams- was quite., indefatigable in urging : the,right,-of his cl-enteitd'.enr; joy the'minor- amenities’! ofi -sociai-dife—T for instance,.- -“five icleoning ( s'j/^hd ; .press : ings of suits, and-.ovurcoatslt/und,-“teh. 1 .pressings of'trousers” ‘per,/year. The., president, of the. Commission-.:/ wanted '.to .-know why a/ mail. could---.not press hi,s own,trousers; or get hi?.wjfeito help | him, and whether, if--could hot afford 'to pay : for.-,fitie ,extra J expense, must it .close • " dovvhvv -»Mr j Williams was s quite inflexible, in the, matter of clothes-pressing, .and >«o, too,, . was the delegate who . wanted.- to make sure- that there .would be . an ; 'ralloW'-| Mice for women for . swimming ..cosr j tuines. ■ I-. '~v ...... i ■ ALLOWANCE FOR RADIO. j Rut one of the demands urged most energetically and persistently on;/behalf . of ■ the. -workers ..was:-,the . claim for. an allowance for radios, both installation and maintenance. • The- spokemnan told the; court that people must', bo amused,, that.this is a progressive- ‘age,' and that a radio might fairly <be regarded as fa natural and , necessary, ingredient ‘in . a comfortable ‘‘.and Ifrappy civiilised life. Even MrLamaro/,es-Attorney-Genera''. "though ho would not saysthat a radio ..i® “necessary,” contended that; .-some sort of .amusement .is-abr solutely indispensable, and that definite 1 allowance--should >be made for it in-the . wage-scale. ;Mr' O’Mara,, of the Union Secretaries’' Association; boldly : declared that' the ' Worker, “should have ‘a radio’'’ and left the three judges to digest the information at 'their .leisure. . Of course, this sort of thing.*is calculated to^'make'aome-'inen.‘feel cynical and one of the Commissioners- was a little acrimonious fater onowhen he;wa.s discussing t l '- c.«ed for “domestic assistance.’’ He pointed out that,, urn regard to the work that a wife must dor ■ to keep the house clean and “in-going : .order” for herself find her husband j and one child—the theoreticnl basis:, of the living wage—"many women d<> : this and .go out for ll.i'- whole aitnr-f noon.”

/'WHEN IS IT GOING TO START?” -For the most part their Honors were inclined, to take, .' rather a humorous view. of -some .of 'the more impossible . and ’incredible claims submitted to them. Occasionally,-' they remonstrated with the witnesses —as when a young “economist”- read extracts rapidly, from a largo number of authorities, and one of the judges remarked wear”y that “in /some, respects it. sounded l : ke kj treatise on relativity.” When another. advocate was enlarging eloquent’y on the merits ;of liigjh wages, the president observed casually that he “knew no line of .thought where people are so complete’y hypnotised with words as economics.” And when Mr Lamaro began to talk about the possible advent of- a “new rertigion” under which “none Trust work for four weeks in the year, but they ..must be , fed, clothed and amused,’’ one of’the judges looked up absently and asked, “When is it going to start?’/ Yes, on hhe whole, the Wages Commission, with its “basic beer” and other minor • alleviations, has provided quite a refreshing interlude * during the past week in Sydney’s rather depressed political and economic "life.