Confusion over 6% wage order

Press, 24 March 1977, Page 2

Confusion over 6% wage order

PA Palmerston North!' Differing opinions by employer and labour or-1 ganisations on the ap-> plication of the 6 per i tent wage order on;' ibove-award wages have ' treated confusion.' ufnoiig workers and em-. pioyers. !< Some employers are payng the 6 per cent on wages; •bove the award but others! ire not — and at least ;n Palmerston North, there are! rumblings of industrial! .Employers in the Canter-! oury Employers’ Association' have been advised in a dr:ular that above-award pay-, stents of -the 6 per cent; order are not mandatory but jn the other hand not pro-; hibited. ?‘lt is a matter for the; firms themselves to decide,” i laid the association’s director (Mr N. M. West)! yesterday. There had been no prob-j iems or confusion in Canter-1 bury over the payments, he; Uid. . The Wellington Employ-1 ers’ Association says its j members are not legally ob-| liged to pay the 6 per cent! on above-award wages, but the Federation of Labour; says they should pay the in- 1 crease. The differing opinions on I the new wage order hinge; on the wording of the Wage; Adjustment Regulations and! the interpretation of the j word “remuneration." .The wage order was made; on all remuneration and,' under the Wage Adjustment' Regulations, “remuneration”' means the salary or wages I payable to any worker and| Includes:

|(A) Any minimum rate of i salary or wages. |(B) Any actual rate of salary !■ or wages. The Federation of ; Labour’s secretary (Mr W. J.|l Knox) said that (B) covered' ' above-award payments be-1 cause it was the actual wage; [or salary a worker is receiv-1; ling. i Mr Knox said the wage: order made by the Wage, 'Hearing Tribunal on March-: 11 was "aerdss the board.” J "It includes everything,” IMr Knox said, “including! [margins and relativities.” I i Mr Knox said the F.0.L.; •had not received any com-i plaints that employers were I not paying the 6 per cent on everything. He assumed be-i cause there had been no; [complaints, employers must i Ibe paying the 6 per cent on; i above-award wages, j “We have not contacted; the employers and they have I jnot contacted us,” Mr Knox! Isaid. "We consider the; employers should pay the 6 | I per cent on all rates.” But the regional director iof the Wellington Employ-1 I ers’ Association (Mr J. G. i j McCarthy) said employers; 'were not legally obliged to pay the 6 per cent on above-! [award wages. Their move; I was covered by clause 16b I 1(5) of the regulations, which' says: “Any rate of remuneration lawfully payable under I an instrument that is; not an award or a col-; lective agreement may i be increased to the extent and manner pre-' scribed by an order mkde under sub-clause (1) of this regulation.” j ' “In our opinion, ‘may’ is I •the operative word.” Mr| ; McCarthy said. “In our; 'view, it prevails over the. (general definition of remune-' ■ration.”

An above-award payment i was outside the award. It I I was an agreement between worker and employer and so; became an instrument as re-! ferred to in clause 16h (5). I This view is backed by j I the Labour Department. Ai i spokesman in Wellington i 'said the 6 per cent wage order applied compulsorily only to award rates, but i might be applied to aboveaward payment. The term “actual rates” was an extension of the 'main definition of “remuneration.” The tribunal could order only an increase in remuneration as defined in 'clause 16h (1) of the regulations. Under this section, the tribunal is confined in its [order to rates of remuneration of workers under all awards and collective agree.ments. I The term “actual rate” I also took into account wages paid under an instrument, I not an award or collective 'agreement, which may not be the minimum rate under the award. i “If the F.O.L. contention iis correct, sub-clause 5 of clause 16h would be mean- ; ingless,” the spokesman said. I Mr McCarthy said the I Employers’ Association was not advising its members to pay or not to pay the 6 per icent above the award rate. The association merely set out the legal situation.