Wage-earners as market

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32861, 9 March 1972, Page 2

Wage-earners as market

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, March 8. There was nothing new in blaming wageearners for any unfavourable turn in the economy, said the president of the Federation of Labour (Mr T. E. Skinner), at the National Development Conference tonight.

All sorts of reasons could be given for the lag in productivity—the growth in inflation, the low level of investment, the decline in the terms of trade. Of all the reasons advanced, the one given most attention was the growth of inflation—and it was usually blamed on the increase in

wage payments, said Mr Skinner. “The two bogies that are paraded regularly are higher wages and time lost through strikes,” he said. "There is nothing new in this. Any unfavourable turn in the economy is usually blamed on wage-earners. If there is a recession we can expect to be told that the best cure for it is a reduction in wage payments, either directly or by means of higher taxes. “BLAME EXTENDED” “When a boom occurs and inflation grows the cure again is to reduce wage payments. This has now been extended to cover the unsatisfactory growth of productivity.” Mr Skinner said that if wages were restrained and there was no effort made to hold other costs, the result would be a further fall in production and productivity. It was difficult to sell to people who were short of money, and a sound local market was very necessary to support growing export industries. The policies needed to promote prosperity, full employment and rising living standards were those of expansion of production, not of financial restraint. The Government had the final say in what happened in the economy and it could not opt out of this responsibility by setting up organisations to do the work without solid support of the Government itself.