Two months of talks but no wage settlement yet

Press, 16 July 1980, Page 1

Two months of talks but no wage settlement yet

PA Wellington Negotiations between the Government and the Federation of Labour and the Employers’ Federation on a new 'wages package will' resuine late this week in . an atmosphere of un-• certainty? :■ A three-hour meeting at Parliament yesterday produced a consensus that some progress had been made, and a recognition of the importance of quick agreement on a package. But these attitudes were tempered by the realisation , that there were still fundamental areas of disagreement- between the Government and the F.O.L. on the contents of the package. ' The , . talks yesterday centred on a wages pack-. age drawn up by a working party of Government officials, the F.O.L. and-'the Employers’ Federation, over the last two months. • The Acting Prime Minister (Mr Taiboys) refused to release the package' after the meeting, but it is believed to include radical changes to New Zealand’s system of fixing wages. Among thetn is a proposal for an option for regular cost-of-living adjustments, either through a system partly indexing wages to inflation, or by applying to the Arbitration Court for ' general wage orders, to '' The package also incorporates an . F.O.L. suggestion: for solving the question of wages relativity ’by introducing a

“vertical” relativity system within each industry, rather than the present “horizontal” relativity system based on occupation. > The F.O.L. scheme would have unions: concentrate into about 40 groups; — rather than ' the present 300 — to negotiate with their employers margins for skill and responsibility over and above a minimum: y?age ’set by the Arbitra- ’ fion-Court. ‘ ? Mr Taiboys, who attended the meeting with the Minister of Labour (Mr Bolger) and the head’ of the Prime Minister’s .Department, (Mr B. Galvin) refused to detail points of agreement and disagreement after the meeting. But the President of the F.O.L. (Mr W. J. Knox) made it clear that the Federation’s determination to see the .Remuneration Act repealed was a stumbling block. “It is essential the act: -is lifted 'to give us freedom,” he said, adding that the areas of disagreement were -i “fundamental to F.O.L. policy.” Mr Knox agreed with Mr Taiboys that some progress had been made at the meeting but said he was disappointed that an agreement had not been reached.

Asked why the two months of working party meetings had not been enough to reach agreement in principle, Mr Talboys said it was not always possible to.clear up differences at. that level. .

“But there is will on all sides to find a solution. “We want to get the cost-of-livirig element out of the wage round and that is what we are trying to find a way to do” Mr Taiboys said., 1 } • : Mr Knox’s concern ’ at the delay.' and the prox-' imity of the coming round of wage award negotiations, was echoed by the executive director of the Employers’ Federation (Mr J. E. Rowe). Mr Rowe said his federation had no fundamental disagreement with the working : party proposals and was quite prepared’to commit, itself to them. “I am disappointed that we did not come out, (of the meeting) with a. package to which we are all < committed but ‘ progress has. been made,” he said,. ... The : amicabilityof Messrs Taiboys . and . Knox after the meeting /was disturbed somewhat when Mr Knox was handed a copy of comments made by the Prime (Mr Muldoon) yesterday morning on the wage package. Mr Muldoon, told reporters at the South Pacific Forum on Tarawa that'it was pointless to rush through the wage package in a day or two. Some aspects clearly were unacceptable to the Government and they required more, negotiation, said Mr Muldoon, who will return to New Zealand to- ■■ day. T ' „■ ■ ;; Mr Muldoon’s comments clearly irritated Mr Knox.