WAGE JEALOUSY.

Taihape Daily Times, 28 December 1918, Page 5

WAGE JEALOUSY.

INDUSTRIAL TROUBLE BRED BY j "BIG MONEY." (From the London "Express.") The one prevailing cause of all the present strikes is the difficulty of living with the sovereign only worth ten shillings. A secondary cause is wage jealousy. The present strike began in South Wales among a small number of men. The local dissatisfaction was due primarily to the disparity in wages between various trades and industries. The coal miners are making "big money." I know of one familyfather, mother, and two sons —in which the three men, all miners, are drawing an average of £2l 5s for a five-day week. Doubtless the wives of enginemen in the same neighbourhood incite their husbands to make demands for higher pay. The men themselves are apt to give way to wage jealousy and forget their duty.

The strike has spread to the Great Western system. A particular seat of unrest is Slough, and there the unrest is again largely due to wage jealousy. The authorities are building an enormous repair depot. The contractor elaims that, in view of the labour shortage, he has to "attract" workers. He is doing so with a vengeance. Unskilled labour is making £3, £3 10s, and even £4 5s a week, while in cases where the worker lives outside a certain radius his fare lives as well, The engineman who lives at Slougn who drives his engine past the growing repair depot is reminded daily of the contrast between his wages and the sums paid to unskilled labour alongside the line. When he gets home he is reminded again by his wife—and wage jealousy incites a strike '

The average working man does not want to profiteer—hut he is jealous when his friend in another industry does so. In any case, his wife will not tolerate It.

What Is wanted is a Wage Controller, who will be able to estimate the true cost of living, coordinate earnings, and ensure fair play.