Free wage talks on

Press, 17 August 1977, Page 6

Free wage talks on

PA Wellington There was a return to free wage bargaining yesterday with the opening session of a conciliation council on the Metal Trades Award. The Engineers’ Union seeks a 20 per cent increase on present wage rates for workers covered by the award. The award is seen as a trendsetter in many areas, a fact acknowledged bv the conciliation commissioner who set up the council Mr A. Castelli). Others see the ElectricalSupply Authorities Award as the test case to watch

when it goes into conciliation on August 29. Conciliation on the Metal Trades Award will resume this morning after the union and employers have had a chance to consider their positions. The Employers’ Federation advocate for the engineering industry (Mr P. Carroll) said before the meeting that there would be no great leap forward in wages. The general secretary of the union (Mr J. Boomer) said that with the 6 per cent general wage order, the process workers who made up most of his

union’s membership had a gross weekly wage of $85.86. Allowing $l4 tax for a one-income family and $3 tax out of the $7 cost-of-living order, a married worker got $76 a week net. If the union’s total claim was met, process workers’ wages would rise to $lOB gross a eek, $lO a week less than the average weekly wage. Before conciliation, all five conciliation commissioners met the Minister of Labour (Mr Gordon). It is believed that the meeting was sought by the conciliators.