WAGE STANDARDS

Waikato Times, Volume 121, Issue 20284, 28 August 1937, Page 8

WAGE STANDARDS

ARGUMENTS SUMMARISED ECONOMIC CONDITIONS COURT’S FINDING SHORTLY (Special to Times.) AUCKLAND, Saturday At the conclusion of the Arbitration Court's hearing concerning the standard wages for skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers, Mr Justice O’Regan, who presided, intimated that the court's finding would be pronounced as soon as possible. In his summary of the case for the employers, Mr Macdonald said he contested the following points, upon which the employees’ case appeared to rest: —Firstly, that high wages necessarily produced prosperity and secondly, that low wages necessarily produced depression. Thirdly, wages therefore should be high so that prosperity might be maintained, and the workers enjoy a high standard of living. Fourthly, that it was within the power of the Court to fix wages at a high level, and thereby improve the prosperity of the Dominion and the standard of the worker. There had been many Instances where higher wages had been cancelled by higher living costs, and the worker was no better off. In the past year the index of retail prices had risen steeply, following the rise in wages about a year ago. Labour costs formed a large part of production, and consequently were reflected in the prices of food the worker must buy. Damaging Costs High costs might mean the ruin of many producers whose goods were sold in overseas markets, since such goods had to be sold at competitive prioes, said Mr Macdonald. Goods also produced for local consumption must be competitive with imported goods, and if local oosts were higher, New Zealand producers would be at a disadvantage, they would be unable to sell at prices which repaid costs, and production would have to be reduced. This would create industrial depression and unemployment. Wages were fixed by what employers could afford to pay for labour, which depended upon the prices secured for the products of labour. This in turn depended upon what consumers would pay for products sold in open competition with those of other countries. Case for the Workers " Low wage rates benefit only the money-lender, large landholders and profit-hunters generally,” said Mr J. Roberts, on behalf of the workers. Similarly, reduced purchasing power restricted production in New Zealand, lowered the incomes of shopkeepers and those who rendered services, while It compelled thousands of workers and their families to exist on a fodder basis of living. ‘‘The industrial history of New Zealand in the past 25 years proves that low wages restricted industrial expansion, and in the end brought the country to the verge of bankruptcy,” he said. “ The court should see to it that there should not be a return cf those evil days. The country is prosperous to-day, compared with a few years ago. The court could make it still more prosperous by making a new departure in the policy of wage fixation, and by increasing the purchasing power of the wage and salaried workers of this country.”

Mr Roberts concluded with the following premises:—The practice of basing living standards of 1914, on the pronouncement made by the court in 1925 or 1931, was economically unsound and should be discontinued, as it had been the cause of most of the economic evils experienced in New Zealand. Wage rates should have direct relation to the ability of workers to produce goods and render services. Standard of living should improve with increased productivity per person employed in industry. In assessing weekly wage rates, the court should _ ascertain the commodity requirements of a family of five people, and the wage necessary to purchase these commodities at present-dav prices. J