F.O.L. pay call

Press, 18 April 1980, Page 3

F.O.L. pay call

FA Wellington I The Federation of Labour , will call on the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) at Parlia|ment today to put its case (for a pay increase to compensate for the rise in the cost of living. The F.O.L.’s president (Mr W. J. Knox) demanded the meeting after consumers price index statistics showed that New Zealand’s annual inflation rate had reached a record 18.4 per cent. Much hinges on the outcome of the meeting. Mr Knox has said that the F.O.L. will not attend next week’s tripartite talks on wages if the Government re-i fuses to make a cost-of-liv-'ing adjustment.

The Minister of Labour (Mr Bolger) has said that such an adjustment is unwarranted, but Mr Muldoon earlier this week agreed to the meeting without com.mitting the Government one way or the other. ’ However, he emphasised that the F.O.L. would jeopardise the Kinleith pay agreement if it imposed conditions on the wages talks. The F.O.L. has not yet disclosed the size of the increase it will seek. Mr Muldoon said yesterday that the meetings with the F.O.L. had been discussed by the caucus, but he said that there was no disicussion on whether the Government should agree to a cost-of-livingadjustment.