Wage relativities
Sir, — Much has been made of wage relativities during negotiations on teacher salaries — specifically the comparison between the salaries of teachers and policemen. It would be wonderful if some mathematician could come up with an equation which would show without argument that a teacher’s salary should be 1.3 times a policeman’s salary, or some such figure. Data to be fed into the equation would include qualifications. years of service, hours w’orked, hardship, holidays, danger, etc. Given human ineptitude, to even compare qualifications, let
alone the other factors makes the results of such an equation absolute nonsense. And yet this is what teachers and many other occupations are trying to do, when they unfavourably compare their salaries with other groups. Such comparisons cannot be mad« on a rational basis. It is surely a matter of great concern that so much of our industrial unrest is fuelled by the impossible claims of wages relativity. — Yours, etc., ALAN FALLOON. June 23, 1978.
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Press, 26 June 1978, Page 16
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161Wage relativities Press, 26 June 1978, Page 16
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