GRADUATED CUTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 72, 26 March 1931, Page 8

GRADUATED CUTS.

MEAN SMALLER SAVING.

treasury figures quoted

TOTAL SALARY BILL, £13,900,000.

(By Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this day, Sir Apirana Ngata, who was temporarily in charge of the Finance Bill this morning, said it was estimated that if the Labour amendment to exclude from the reduction the sum of £275 in all salaries throughout the Civil Service wore carried, the Government's saving in consequence of the 10 per cent cut would amount to something under £200,000. Labour members pointed out that the Prime Minister had stated there would be a saving of £200,000 if the exemption applied to £400, and said there must be some mistake in the figures. Sir Apirana said there had been a misunderstanding when the first calculation was made as to the extent to which it was proposed to apply the exemption. It had not then been understood that the amendment contemplated the exemption of £400 in all salaries, otherwise the figure given by the Prime Minister to represent the estimated savings would have been much lower than £200,000. Figures supplied by the Treasury indicated that if there were a general exemption of £275, the saving in Civil servants' salaries would be reduced to something under £200,000. A general exemption of £250 would produce a saving of £220,000; a general exemption of £225, £300,0jt)0; and a general exemption of £200, £350,000. These sums had to be compared with the saving of £1,399,000 which would be effected by a general 10 per cent cut throughout the service. Sir Apirana added that there were 11,290 Civil servants whose salaries were over £295 per annum. Their total salaries amounted to £4,031,950, and if the 10 per cent cut applied to them, without any exemption, the saving in the Government's salary bill would amount to £403,000. After Labour members had pressed for further information, the Hon. Sir Apirana Ngata gave the following details of the Government's Salaries Bill. He pointed out that the tot 11 number of employees above each sum irent'oncd extended right to the top of the service, and in all cases includ'd J, :2 total mentioned with respect to the urn preceding it. Details were as ollow: — Salaries Above £295: Number of employees, 11,396; total salaries, £•},- 031,950. Above £250: 21,976; £7,580,155. Above £200: 32.902; £10,110.710. Above £175: 35,240; £10,543,451. Above £150: 30,010; £10,701,280. The Minister added that the total number of permanent employees in the service was 43,096, and their salaries amounted to £11,499,518. The number of temporary employees totalled 11,021, and their salaries amounted to £2,417,108.

Discussion was continued by Labour members until Mr. A. Harris * (Reform, Waitemata) rose to explain his attitude. He said he thought that if a man earning £300 per annum was to be subject to the cut it would not be unreasonable to expect those on £27> to make _ some sacrifice, however small. He wished to state, however, that lie would be voting in favour of the next amendment to be moved, which would exempt the man on a salary of £2.50 per annum, and he would also support subsequent amendments dealing with sums below that figure. He suggested that even now it was not too late for the Government to change its plans. Tic could not conceive that even the Government in its own heart believed that a flat rate of reduction was the fairest way.

Several Labour members contended that there would be no benefit to the Consolidated Fund as the result of reducing salaries in the Post and Telegraph Department, as the revenue from that Department went into a separate fund, and did not assist in balancing the national budget.

The Hon. H. Atniore, who was temporarily in. charge of the bill, expla'n>d that legislation would be in trod need in a second - bill to enable the Consolidated Fund to get the benefit of the Post and felegraph salary reductions.