Aust. Govt set to fight against big pay rise

Press, 26 February 1977, Page 6

Aust. Govt set to fight against big pay rise

NZPA Canberra (C I v The Australian Govern-! \ ment, desperately trying to (a stave off cost-of-iiving wage; increases for six million (1 workers, has launched its) I campaign in earnest byp painting a bleak economic!! outlook for the country! a uqless it gets its way. |[ The Federal Treasurer (Mrlc Phillip Lynch) fired the) opening salvoes in what is[l shaping up to be a bitter r fight with unions by declar-)! ing that a full-flow on of the|< six per cent rise in the De-.c cember quarter consumer:! price index would mean an[i inflation rate of 18 per cent:! this year. The Australian Council of)e Trade Unions has already;! vowed to seek full corri-ic pensation for its membersit under the terms of wage in- I dexation — the linking of f [wage rises to price-index in- e creases. ;r But speaking in Parlia- e ment, Mr Lynch said that r any forecast of the inflation t rate for 1977 would depend r heavily on the decision taken by the wage-fixing ( Arbitration Commission on t the claim. _ 1 When confronted with a J cry that the figure would c reach 18 per cent, Mr Lynch c replied: “I suggest that figure mav well be the caseq if the full index were to be granted bv the commission. ’ The Prime Minister (Mr r Malcolm Fraser) made itie

II clear that the Government ;r was preparing a hard-line/ wages policy as part of the t anti-inflation fight. ; f The Minister for Post and) I Telecommunications (Mr’S Eric Robinson), in a speech a in Brisbane to the Proprie-'c tary Sugar Millers’ Associ-I( atibn said: “The nation sim-(l ply cannot afford full in- i i dexation of wages. : l “It is regrettable that the; leader of the trade union' movement in Australia (Mr Bob Hawke) because of his! additional position as presi- > dent of the Australian J Labour Party can’t play his [ proper role as a trade union . leader. “As a prisoner of his It executive and his congress] he has to espouse a policy of full wage indexation)] when he well-and-truly;: knows that anv such ap-: r proach would have such 1 enormous detrimental effect] not only to the Australian [ r economy but also to the rank-and-file membership of the unions which he is supoosed to represent.” Meanwhile, the decline in S Government moral over the I economy grew when I the production statistics for r January showed that the re- r covery in production in De- ; cember has disappeared. s Industry leaders told Min- ( isters that retail sales;figures for January and Feb- [ ruary were well down on*p expectations. |-