STANDARD OF WAGES IN N.Z.

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23110, 28 August 1940, Page 10

STANDARD OF WAGES IN N.Z.

♦ STATEMENT BY MR R. H. NIMMO WELLINGTON. August 27. The president of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce (Mr R. H. Nimmo), taking the greatest exception to criticism passed by railway workers at Petone, and an anonymous letter in a Wellington newspaper, said that people who deliberately misconstrued statements and twisted them to suit their own pet theories, were by their actions retarding the progress of the country and disrupting the harmony that should exist, especially during these difficult days. In both cases, he said, he had been credited with having, made a deliberate attack on the standard of wages, with a view to forcing down the rate, whereas what he did say was that he was a firm believer 'in workers being well paid, and in these enlightened days workers had the right to be well and fully paid for their labours, thereby making it possible for them to enjoy the' amenities of life. The part of his speech to which exception appeared to have been taken was his statement that the standard of living in this country was, in his opinion, too high in relation to the rate of production. That was the crux of his argument, and also the root of the trouble in New Zealand at the present time. ‘‘lf we are going to continue the present standard of living we must earn it by the rate of production,” he concluded.