Court Cautious On Margins For Skill

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30822, 6 August 1965, Page 3

Court Cautious On Margins For Skill

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, August 5. The Court was left with the “general impression” that margins for skill should be increased but it would be “worse than futile” to increase them if other influences shortly destroyed the margins, said Judge A. P. Blair today.

His Honour said this in an Arbitration Court memorandum attached to a new award for electrical workers. The new minimum wage rate for registered electrical journeymen is 8s 6d an hour (an increase of 5Jd and for other electrical journeymen, 8s 4d increase. An extra 6d an hour is provided for journeymen who hold the electricdans' advanced trade certificate. "The applicant sought substantial increases in the wage rates of first registered electrical journeymen and second other electrical journeymen,” the memorandum said. “The case for increases was not based on the usual grounds. Instead, Mr A. J. Neary, advocate for the applicant, took the opportunity to raise the issue of margins for skill in the electrical industry. “In particular, it was argued that the margins for skill as between the particular tradesmen and unskilled labourers should be widened so that the percentage margin for electrical journeymen should be in the region of 28 J per cent. “We think we should say at once that, while we do not accept all the arguments and figures which were presented by the applicant we are left with the general impression that there i's something of a case for increasing the margin between unskilled workers and electricians. “However, there are obvious difficulties in fixing a margin with precision because of the

inherent limitations of the case. “We cannot be so naive as to imagine that a margin decision in this case will be limited only to the particular journeymen who are members of the applicant union. REPERCUSSIONS “In fact, any decision will obviously have repercussions first, on all electricians, on other skilled workers whose existing differentials will be disturbed and. indeed, throughout the whole wage structure. “The applicant is entitled to agree that the Court should concern itself only with the case before the Court and deal with the comparatively simple issue of margins between the electrical journeymen and the unskilled worker. “The answer to this, of course, is that the simple issue cannot be isolated and our decision will, in fact, affect other persons whose views have not been heard. “This is not the fault of the applicant but we are bound to look at the realities of the situation. “In approaching the matter of margins there is another factor which the Court must have regard to and which compels the Court to proceed cautiously. “A margin Increase which cannot be maintained is not a true margin increase. It would be worse than futile to increase margins if other influences shortly destroyed the margin. "We say ‘worse than futile’ as not only would the purpose of the adjustment not have been achieved but the Court would have, by its action, simply caused wage increases having some of the

effects of a general wage order. “If, then, the Court is to grant margin increases it must feel some degree of assurance that its action will be effective. It will not be effective unless it is generally acceptable. “It Is stating the obvious to say that the Court alone cannot maintain margins. Margins are the product of a number of influences such as the employment situation generally and in particular trades, the state of the economy and the bargaining power of parties. "We nevertheless feel bound to say that the evidence in the present case leaves us with the general impression that margins for skills should be increased. We say ‘general impression’ as we are left also In the position that we have not sufficient depth and width of information to make an accurrate assessment. “In our view, the evidence in the present case does not permit us to do otherwise than to move forward cautiously. “Accordingly, without attempting to designate what the unskilled rate should be, or to make a final decision on what the percentage differences should be between the electrical journeyman and the unskilled worker, we have fixed what we think is an appropriate rate for registered electrical journeymen and other electrical journeymen."