GOVERNMENT PLAN: Control of all remuneration

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32540, 25 February 1971, Page 1

GOVERNMENT PLAN: Control of all remuneration

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, February 24.

The Government’s wages legislation would be called the “Stabilisation of Remuneration Bill,” and would cover all types of remuneration, including directors’ fees as well as wages and salaries, including those of the State services, the Minister of Labour (Mr Marhall) said tonight.

Speaking to reporters after a 90minute talk with a deputation from the Federation of Labour, Mr Marshall said the bill had been drawn up and printed, and would be ready for introduction on Friday as planned.

Mr Marshall said he had had “very frank” discussions with the F.O.L. deputation, and had invited the federation to submit any practical alternatives to achieve *he greater stability that had to be achieved.

Unless there was some limit on the amount by which wages and salaries could be increased there would be another round of inflation, Mr Marshall said. “There must be some limit fixed, and if the F.O.L. is unable to agree on a limit for which it could obtain some

support from its members the Government has no alternative but to fix that limit,” he said. “If the Government fails to do this then we will be in exactly the same position this year as we were in last year. <(

“Even the F.O.L. sees that that kind of inflation is bad, and that greater stability is in the interests of everyone, including the workers. “They were not able to put forward any practical alternatives, but I still invited them to put any proposals they do have before the Select Committee, which will consider the bill.” The president of the F.O;L. (Mr T. E. Skinner) said the result of the talks was “nil.”

The deputation had put forward certain proposals, but these did not seem to be acceptable, he said. “I think the Government has made up its mind on what it is going to do about this bill, and it is determined to go ahead irrespective of the consequences.” The F.O.L. did not think the bill would solve the problem, he said, but it would make submissions once it had seen exactly what was included in the measure.

“There is practically nothing in the bill the federation could agree to at this stage," he said. The bill was aimed at the trade union movement and at holding wages, said Mr Skinner, but there were no measures in it which would hold prices and profits. There was nothing in it against employers and manufacturers. It was all aimed at the trade unions. Mr Skinner said the federation would meet next week to formulate its submissions on the bill.