The Daily News. REDUCING WAGES.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 December 1920, Page 4

The Daily News. REDUCING WAGES.

The first move in the direction of lowering wages in Britaia has been made in connection with the shipbuilding industry, which has been suffering severely from the "ca'-canny"' tactics pursued by the workers. A reduction of twelve shillings in the weekly bonus appears to be a drastic step, and it is hardly likely to have been decided upon without serious consideration by the employers, who certainly cannot be expected to carry on at ;a loss. They have shown their willingness to pay high wages in -order to obtain a greater output, instead of which the workers hajve deliberately increased the cost of construction and lessened the output by pursuing a policy •wihich can only result, in driving tlie industry to other shiores. On the Clyde the carpenters and joiners have struck against the reduced bonus, but in the Belfast yards the reduction] has beein accepted. Strikes are fraught witli' hardships whenever they take place, but at this time of the when the rigors of winter are being felt in Britain, and unemployment is already assuming large dimensions, it is possible that a very grave situation may arise. It isjnot a.question of the employers taking advantage of an opportunity to reduce expenses in consequence of the large amount of labor offering, but the impossibility of' [paying Current waass owinK|to shipbuilding costs

having become prohibitive. It may j be argued that the bonus which lias now been reduced was given to meet the high eost of living, and therefore it should not have been ; reduced until a corresponding lessening of that cost had taken place. A consideration of that factor also involves taking into account that greater production was essential to reducing the cost of living, but the workers have lessened the output as well as deliberately raising the cost, therefore they must pay the penalty of their selfishness. It is impossible to conjecture whether the strike will be confined to the Clyde shipbuilding yards or will spread to other industries. Apparently the Motherland will have to face a further series of industrial troubles more serious than those of the past, and the measure of anxiety will be enlarged by the special trouble connected with Irish affairs. The producers of the Dominion may well be excused if they view the present outlook with alarm, as any considerable upheaval in Britain cannot fail to affect market prices, while strikes may create an appreciable shortage of exportable goods and thus keep up high prices just when there appeared a reasonable probability of a fall. Meanwhile the tendency of the money market is in the direction of dearer capita), which will inevitably have the effect of causing a section of the producers in New Zealand to lean upon the Government, while the progress of development works is being adversely affected by the increasing difficulty of borrowing except at rates of interest that must prove prohibitive. In view of the fact that all these troubles are the outcome of the infamous policy of Germany's ex-Emperor, it is particularly galling to learn that this arch-criminal has received fifty million marks from Germany since January 7, 1919, and that his claims for compensation, if fully paid, would give him a yearly income of thirty million marks more than when he occupied the throne, whereas justice demands that he should be stripped of all his former posssesions and the proceeds devoted to restoring the territory and financial, equilibrium of those nations he so wantonly attempted to ruin. It is hardly possible to expect industrial peace until Germany's reparation liabilities have been fully discharged and the Hohenzollerns reduced to penury.