F.O.L. to seek inflation help

Press, 9 April 1980, Page 1

F.O.L. to seek inflation help

PA Wellington The Federation of Labour will meet employers and the Government in two weeks to talk about a joint wages policy in the wake of what the president of the F.O.L. (Mr W. J. Knox) says are “vicious” price rises.

But Mr Knox made it clear last evening that the talks in Wellington on April 24 will make no progress if the Government is not prepared to consider compensation for cost-of-living increases. He would not discuss the stance yesterday’s F.O.L. executive meeting decided to adopt at the tripartite talks.

“We won’t be making any statements about that until we meet the Government and find out what it is going to do,” Mr Knox ■ said.

The F.O.L. executive put seven wage-policy proposals to the Government last November. Mr Knox said the only response so far had been an invitation to take them up at the In- : dustrial Relations Council, .* from which the F.O.Li ' withdrew last year. ,

As February’s increase in the all foods group of the consumers price index was the highest since World, War II — not counting the effects of the 30 and 20 , per cent sugar and butter price rises of yesterday — an immediate increase must top the F.O.L.’s priority list. j Mr Knox described the j increases as “vicious,” and'* a /‘further savage blow to salary and wage earners.” J

He predicted they would i add a further 1 per cent ; to the inflation rate of 16.5 r per cent, and. that once I the effects were felt in in- I dustries which use a lot j of sugar, the figure would be even higher. J

The Government should make another cost-of-living , adjustment, Mr Knox said, j Failing that, the Government should restore the ; F.O.L.’s right to take a I general wage order case < to the Arbitration Court, : he said. Mr Knox was not impressed with the suggestion by the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) that unions : should consider limiting the size of wage demands , in return for income tax cuts.

That would only be followed by increases in an already high rate of indirect taxation. The latest increase raised major questions about the direction of the Government’s policy, Mr Knox said.