Wage control rejected

Press, 26 May 1981, Page 3

Wage control rejected

PA . c., Wellington Employers believe in free wage bargaining and see any 7 form of control only as a last resort, said the- president of the Employers’ Federation (Mr Stan Duncan) yesterday. He was referring to comment in Christchurch by the,. Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) on the*' Arbitration . Court’s 5 per cent cost-of-living increase. Mr Muldoon said an option nbwv|of the Government would be to go back to wage control. .Because of the Court order, Mr Muldoon said, the Government would be look-

ing for a wage round with a 6 to 6.5 per cent increase. Mr Duncan's opinion today was: “We do not want controls.” However, he said that employers could understand a Government belief that control was the only way to hold inflation in the face of the threat of a wages explosion. Mr Duncan, wants the “naming of numbers” — percentage wage : increase — being bandied around before the start of the conciliation round to be avoided this year. “We don’t want anyone naming numbers — the

unions, the employers or the Governrment. To do so is crazy. “Last year the Govern-, ment named a number (13 per cent) and that was that. "The movement in wages has got to be decided in conciliation and based on the criteria of the ability to'pay. — not the industry’s ability, but the country’s,” said Mr Duncan. The Federation of Labour intends leaving the level of the pay round requirement to individual trade unions, and already there are indications that claims lodged will not be modest.