Government Opposes Longer Holidays

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32068, 16 August 1969, Page 46

Government Opposes Longer Holidays

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, August 15. The Government was opposed to granting public servants more holidays until the targets of the National Development Conference had been met, the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Marshall) told the Public Service Association at its annual conference today.

He said there was a need for increased production and maximum output, and these could not be achieved if more holidays were granted.

The secretary of the P.S.A. (Mr D. P. Long) asked Mr Marshall what incentives workers had to meet N.D.C. targets when in the last two years the cost of living had increased by 12 per cent to 13 per ednt and wages had risen by only a little more than 8 per cent Mr Marshall said there was no sense in the Government’s trying to hide that devaluation and other Government measures had caused prices to rise.

But, he said, although 1960 prices had increased by 29 per cent, wages had gone up by 51 per cent. Mr Marshall said the Government considered that it was of the utmost importance for workers to get a share of the national prosperity, and the Government would see that this happened. On the question of public servants being granted leave for part-time studies towards university degrees, Mr Marshall said that where there was a need for graduates this would be allowed. But in a number of areas the Public Service was finding that it had more graduates applying than it had jobs available. Mr Marshall, who is ehairman of the Cabinet sub-com-mittee on Government administration, attended the conference to answer questions on behalf of the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake), who addressed delegates earlier in the week.