RELATIONS IN INDUSTRY

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27710, 14 July 1955, Page 12

RELATIONS IN INDUSTRY

IMPROVEMENT NOTED IN U.S.

WORKERS ANXIOUS TO INCREASE OUTPUT

The greatest difference in employeremployee relationships between the United States and New Zealand was that in the States only 25 per cent, of the labour force was in trades unions, said Mr Clement D. Johnston, chairman of the board of the United States Chamber of Commerce, in an interview with “The Press” yesterday. “I think I sense a great improvement in the relations between employer and employee in the States,” said Mr Johnston, answering a question. “They have never been really bad; we have had our differences on some points. There are 63,000,000 workers in the United States, and only 25 per cent, belong to unions. Competition has been very keen, and. as a result of that, we don’t have price regulations. The profits of the whole of American business is below 3 per cent, of sales. “Therefore, American business lives in a goldfish bowl. By and large every corporation publishes its profits and makes all the information available to the individual workers in the plant as part of the public relations programme. Consequently, the workers know there is not very much fat to be divided with him unless he increases the productivity of that particular plant.” One or the outstanding fact? of American business was that the worker was just as anxious to increase production ‘as was the boss, said Mr Johnston. The Labour movement and others took action to see that the worker received his share. The workers received between 70 and 80 per cent, of the cost of production. When he increased production, the worker increased his own wages and standard of living. He was a co-partner with the boss in increasing production.

There was pressure for overtime, and that made the worker want his particular plant to increase production every month. The principle of profit sharing was sound, but it had its problems, said Mr Johnston in reply to a question at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon. By and large it would not work, because it was too hard to determine who was going to get the share of the profits. In his own business, 25 per cent, of the profits were divided every three months.