CIVIL -SERVANTS' SALARIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 79, 5 April 1926, Page 5

CIVIL -SERVANTS' SALARIES.

THE STANDARD LOWERED.

SERVICE JOURNAL'S ARGUMENTS

The cost of living is seriously discussed in the current issue of the "Public Service Journal" as under: —

"The report of the recent interviewbetween the Prime Minister and the representatives of three service organisations which appeared in the Journal for March indicated that there was a decided antipathy shown to discuss the cost of living question in its relation to salaries. There is a regrettable want of interest shown in many quarters regarding the cost of living. Discussions on this subject with tho Public Service Commissioner show that he is inclined to the belief that the time lias long since passed when the increase in the index figures of the cost of living statistics should be made the means of furnishing justifiable arguments in favour of our reason-able demands.

"The drastic cuts of the Public Service Expenditure Act undid in one night's sitting all the progress that had been achieved. The Public Sen-ants had groaned for five hard years under a burden their shoulders could ?careelv support. Their standard of living was sensibly lowered, and since the day when the second of the fatal ''cuts' , was put into operation a long-sustained effort has boon made by the association to have the 1020 salaries restored. That this effort lias been ]iartlv successful affords the officers of the association sonic meed of consolation, but the situation of the salaried man of the clerical and genera! divisions who did not get relief as the rer.uk of the 1924 regrading i* still recognised as being of sufficient importance to call for constant and unremitting attention being given to his totally unsatisfactory position on the part of tho members of the executive committee.

"It would appear to be as immutable as the laws of the Me.les- and Persians that the present level of thr- cost of living figures will remain always about GO (>er cent over the July of l'f>l4 figures. This will probably mean that a new adjustment of percentages increases will

■ c adopted by the (Government Statistician, and a base number may lie cho-en which will have some relation to the figure? of the past year i>r two. Salaries and wages would l>e treated in .sueli a contingency as bearing a close and equitable relationship to the new base number. This would result in the picture of the cap-iu-hand public servant being tn!d by an unsympathetic Government th:tt lie bad no legitimate grounds for asking for an increase in salary in view of the fact that the cost of living index figure* and his salary so closely approximate;! as to make it unnecessary to even inquire into the nature of his request.

"The apathetic attitude of lioth the Government and the Public Service Commissioner dee-: not afford us much ground for hoping that our demands will result in any great good at tha moment. We are .told* that nothing can even bo considered until the Government has surveyed the financial aspect of the country, so that in the meantime we must calmly await the decision of the powers-that-be in this regard and simply bkle our time."