A GENERAL WAGE TAX

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 66, 19 March 1931, Page 13

A GENERAL WAGE TAX

SUGGESTION FROM CIVIL SERVICE

The suggestion that the Government's deficit should be met by a wage tax of 6d in the £ on all salaries and wages paid in New Zealand was .made by Mr. F. W. Millar (Secrelary of the Public Service Association) to a large meeting of Public Servants held in the Town Hall last evening. Mr. Millar also suggested a special tax1 on unearned income, and that income tax should be paid on all incomes of £150 or over, with an exemption in the case of a married man of £150 for a wife, together - with existing exemptions.

The meeting was representative of, all : branches of' the Public Service, and p,bout three-quarters of the seating accommodation of the Town Hall was ' ibccupiccl. Mr. M. F. Luckio (DeputyIMayor) presided. Mr. H. E. Holland, Loader of the Parliamentary Labour PaTty was also on. the platform. The speakers wero .Messrs. M. M'llyride (Amalgamated Society of Kailway Servants), F. W. Millar (Public Service Association), J. H. M'Kenzio (Post ana Telegraph Association), and Miss M. Magill (New Zealand Educational Institute). Mr. Luckie apologised for the .absence of the Mayor (Mr. G. A. Troup) and made it clear that he was only present as tho representative of the Mayor and not to express any opinion on the matters to be discussed. He read apologies from a number of Cabinet Ministers and members of Parliament. PREVIOUS. OUT. Mr. 3. H. • M'Kenzie said -that the; meeting was one of the few occasions on which Public servants of Now Zealand had tho opportunity of placing their views .before the public. Public servants not' only protested against the proposals, but protested most bitterly, for the cuts of 1922 had never been restored. Ho pointed out that 'in other forms of employment there ,was opportunity for the reviewing, of salaries. In 1922, the Public servants were informed that the cuts were of a temporary nature, but these cuts had never teen- restored. Referring 'to the conditions under which Public servants worked, Mr. (M'Kenzie said he was convinced from Jiis travels around the Dominion that tho man in tho street had little knowledge of the conditions under which jPublie servants did work. Mr. M'Kenzie traced tho history of the Public servants' organisation and said that it was not till 1913 when Commissioner, control was .instituted, that a definite exchange of grading and classification began to take shape. During the war Public servants had not wished to embarrass tho Government, and it was not till 1918-19 that an overhaul, which brought about some measure of relief,, was made by the Government, which, Mr. M'Kenzie pointed out, was a National Government. In 1919, Public servants stood in the position of being graded on the value of services' performed. They were informed that an increase of a variable nature according to the fluctuations of the cost of living, separate from the grading system, would be necessary. The Public servants had to wait till 1920, and in that year the whole of the Service, by a special Act received' increases; seniors £50, and juniors £20. Those increases brought the Public servants up to 56.4. per cent, of the .'62 per cent, increase in tho cost of living. That was the highest increase the Public servants had had since 1914. Moreover, an undertaking had been given by the Government that should the cost of living rise or fall by 10 points tho Public servants should agree to an adjustment. There was an increase of over 10 points, and when tho Public servants jnado application for the honouring of that agreement—well, they got "turned down." When there was a decrease, that very agreement was applied to enforce reductions. , , ' "Wo are going to protest and protest bitterly against the proposals"—(applause)—he said. "We have seen the Associated Chambers of Commerce, the farmers, .and employers' organisations all ..urging tho lessoning of overhead costs. Ministers in charge of Departments gave the assurance that there would be no salary reductions. Thei Postmaster-General had said that Public servants need have no fear of salary reductions. "As Public servants we render a service to the community indiscriminately, and we do expect that when our claims go before the- Government we should get consideration on the merits of our case, and we should not have to put up with the influence of political parties." Mr. M'Eenzie, in conclusion, pointed but that the Public servants constituted one-ninth of the population, but were being asked to bcar^ one-third of the deficit. TEACHERS "NOT CHEERFUL." Miss Magill dealt with tho proposed Balary reduction as it affected the teachers of New Zealand —some 8000. Tho teachers were at one with the other jnembers of the Public Service in regard to .the question, and they were loyal to the country. They were prcparod to stand by the other branches of the service in any'i sacrifice that may bo made, provided it could be shown that that sacrifice was necessary and. equitable. She asserted that a certain amount of ignorance was shown by a section of the community regarding the .true position. Public servants had been referred to as pcoplo who spent their timo having morning and afternoon tea. How on earth thoy did their I work she did not know, unless tho ' work was done by members of Par- i liament in between travelling. (Laugh-1 fer-) ' ' The speaker then dealt with the .wealth of the people of the Dominion, stating that the average wealth was £1000 a head. A voice: "Where is my share1?" '(Laughter.) When a man entered the Public Service, Miss Magill claimed that ho expected stability and security. He no longer had any attributes of, the economic man—he was not able to bargain any longer. As to tho feelings of the teachers over the proposed 10 per cent, cut, they were not (as she claimed had been suggested by a head-ing-to a report in a Wellington paper) cheerful about tho position. "Incredulous" was too weak a word to use to describe the state of mind of the teachers ■ when they saw tho Government's proposals. The second state of mind was "dismay." People with | a sort of sob in their voice #aid that | much depended on the teachers, but , that was not reflected in their salaries. The higher paid teacher in tho primary service, sho thought, received £500 a year. The teachers of New Zealand were among the lowest paid teachers in the world, and yet the qualifications demanded of them were among the highest in tho world. In .conclusion, Miss Magill asserted that no country -would prosper if it gtarved education. She did not refer only to the salaries of the teachers. Their salaries were to be reduced. What, else was going on in the teaching pro-; fesaion at the present time? Staffs were being- cut down. They were back I to where thejr were ten years ago—•J

large.classes with tho children being taught'by mass methods; of years gone by. : ■ ALL SHOULD HELP. Mr. F. W. , Millar stressed tho fact that he addressed the meeting as a representative of 50,000 employees. Public servants now, We said,, were realising' that there was such a thing as a trade cycle. To-day it was the business of all —business man, farmer, and Civil servant —to take stock. It was known that the business man and the farmer had been hard hit, and he sympathised with them. But all sections of the community did not realise the .position, otherwise they would not attempt to lower the standard of living of Civil servants, and to lower wages generally. The farmer had .not made quite so loud a noise at the expense of the Public servant as he did years ago. It had been stated recenlly that the great majority of farmers were not in favour of wage reductions. (Applause.) ■ As far as the business man was concerned, the Public servant had been put in the wrong position. There was only one way to reduce public expenditure (after economies had been made), and that was by the reducing, of social services. The cost, of administration, Mr. Millar pointed out, had been reduced from 23s 7d to 18s 6d per head, and yet there was talk of gross maladministration in public expenditure. Mr. Forbes was attempting what no man. speaking English, had tried; he wanted to' settle the coat of living problem in one hit, and at tho same time balance his Budget. When he talked about reducing wages all round he fondly hoped that by reducing them there would be a decrease in the cost of living., In the next moment he prayed to high Heaven that the prico of our primary products would improve If the proposed reductions were put into operation thero was going to .be a decreased spending power of £203,000 per week. "EQUALITY OP SACRIFICE." He agreed that the position was serious, and it was duo to everybody to do something. It was right that the Public servants should make some suggestion as to what course might be: adopted.to meet the position. The Prime Minister had said '^Equality of sacrifice," and 24 hours later be brought down proposals that were as far removed from that as the poles.. Mr. Millar suggested that the best method of meeting a temporary position was by temporary taxation. He advocated: (1) A wage tax of 6d in the £ on all salaries and wages paid throughout New Zealand, this to Be ~iA the form of stomp duty: Salary, he explained, should include that portion of the income,of a professional man or business man which was drawn for living expenses of himself or family. ' (2) A special tax on unearned income to provide for a similar taxation burden. (3) Income tax to be payable on all incomes of £150 or over (111- ---' stead of as at present £300 or over), with an exemption in the case of a . married man of £150 for a wife, together with existing exemptions. The money raised by those means .would practically balance Mr. Forbesis Budget in a>breath. .Above all, they would render tinkering with Arbitration CouTt awards unnecessary; a detrimental step. ,I| the 10 per cent, cut went through fhe dead-level man would find'that he was going to get-8 per cent., more, money for the same work to-day that he got in 1914, in spite ot the fact that tho present cost of living was 56 per cent, above pre-war. A senior officer was going to receive less money to-day than he did in 1914 tor the same value work, and they had to meet, that 56 per cent, increase in the cost «f living. ' . "We say that the cost of living will not be reduced one iota, by'the proposals of the Government," he concluded.'

.;.".-■•; :■■.!'. CUT -UNWARRANTED,.;;': ;l,;.;;; 'cMr.iL: M'Uv.rid.e'said^'tliaf his, organisation- with a- membership : exceeding 9QOO, in;icpmmon' with- alliotheri members'of the service, said, that there was: no-justificatioifor the lpropqsedcut-7-that ;it was ' .unwarranted, and if .put .into, operation :VbuTd': 'result -iii 'any.imV. paifment 'of/ industrial'-V fcfficiency,' ;a still further-reduction of:.the spending power of the;people ■■that must impov-erish-tho peoplb of -the community. \; : It ■was-believed; that the proposed-10/pcr cent, cut would only aggravate instead of relieve the position.,. •■•.."' Mr. M'llvride dealt with ,tho .-con'di-.-tions of railwHymen to-day and what ho claimed, they would be if 'the, proposed' cutf was inflicted. ; The nienhe represented had never yet been in receipt;,, of the' 1914 standard of living or the standard of living recognised as the .1914 standard.; !!,In that; year the.'railwaymen .were"' approximately ,4s'" per week .'below;tho recognised standard when,;practically.speaking, every worker'in New Zealand, per medium of the 'Arbitration' Court, ■•': and - otherwise, received an increase, in wages from is to !6s.a week. '.It.was contended that if the. 10 per cent, cut was inflicted not only .would Civil servants be in a worse position" than: they, .were before, 1914, ■;but-i probably they, would . find , themselves in a worse position than they were.in; 1900; ■ .Sofar as some of the railwaymen'" were concerned, after, meeting the increased, charge in rent, deducting-superannuation, etc.; , they were left with: £1 19s lid a week. If the propos,e'd':lo per-, cent: -■ reduction were ,put .into .'operation they would be left with £114s a week, and it .was'to, be remembered that the purchasing PP^er of' the pound to-day was-only -12s 10d; The slightest: increase in tho.. cost -of living and the slightest reduction in .their: wagesfwould bring them to a position .of.-semi-starvation.; v : ' "-..■ ,-

''FORBES WILL BE GONE. 1' ,; : Mr.M'llvride.dealt,with a pamphlet which he referred to as ''The 1931 message to the business people of New, Zealand," from which, he quoted :sey- ; era! passages decrying pessimism and forecasting better," times. >■ ..' The •: statements, said Miv M'llvride,. were made before the Prime Minister submitted; his proposals.- To-day, we were'being told, that Nejv: Zealand was on the brink, and tli'at if wo did not submit to; reductions in wages, over tho brink tho country and the people with it would go into oblivion. "Prices will be up," said Mr. M'llvride, holding the pamphlet aloft in his hand. "Your wages will be-down." ■ I A voice from the back of'the hall: "And Forbes will-be gone." (Laughter.) ... ■-.■■ ..-.: ■."■• The .speaker- asserted, that the rail-.

waymen'would fight the proposal to reduce wages and physically" until exhausted, as'they had in 1921. EESOLUTION CARRIED. Sir.: M'llvride ;moved the following resolution, which was carried unanimously:— That this : large combined meeting of all branches of the Public 1 Service strenuously Objects to the imposition of an additional reduction in salaries for the following reasons':-— ':'■■■' ■■'■■■''{ '"■■>,■■ ■. ■ (1) The/drastic reductions made in 1922 reduced salaries considerably below the'cost of living at that time. '■'.; . (2) ■' Despite the fact, that .the cost of living has not yet fallen to ,'vthV point to which salaries have: already'been, reduced, the cut of 1922 : has never been restored, although in the .intervening periodßudget surpluses up, to: £6,000,000 ; have been ! shb-njn, and the justice and equity of service claims to salary., improvet\ ments have not,beeil disputed by suc-cessive-Administrations; '; ■■■"'■: ■ :; . ■ (3) Since holding .office the':present Prime' Minister has stated 'that ■ the salaries of: Public servants" were too low,and the Leader of the'Oppo- ''-' .sition made a similar'statement .in December, 1929.' ■'•'■•-. ■■?.;: :": J j (4); The .Government's, proposals I .-: will have, the', effect of depriving, P. üb- ■ .lie servants 'of they.whole ..of the..increase granted in 1920, wh'en the cost J'of .living-figures- were at'practically i' tho. same level as■obtains'■. to-day. , J, ; ~,;■., (5): For the;. 'same, reasons stated .;■■■.above ,.., we: 'are of the.; opinion:■,.that ; the r Government .-proposals''regarding .. Public servants'have ho justification ) in; equity,: and' are wrong in principle, -...by selecting :theni-as a? class for spe-,1 ;cial taxation' 'besides calling ' upon; all ibtherV taxation.to ■'..■'■'which, i the1 ordinary citizen is '■ ■ sub-/■■'ject.-,;v;: !■;■•■'/■/ '-/■■■'■■:■ ':' p -'"■y''"-\ ? ;\'l-'::hr^