Mr Knox suggests union for vicars

Press, 15 July 1982, Page 11

Mr Knox suggests union for vicars

PA Wellington The Federation of Labour’s president. Mr W. J. Knox, wants a vicars’ union formed as a means of beating the wage freeze. He made the suggestion on learning yesterday that in spite of the wage freeze, The Labour Department had granted stipend increases to Anglican, Methodist, and Presbyterian churchmen. “I don’t begrudge them their increase for one minute. They deserve it because they have got the best advocate I know,” Mr Knox said. "He is a lot stronger than the Prime Minister, and we could do with a little help from him in getting round the freeze ourselves," Mr Knox said. He suggested that the churchmen might like to consider affiliation ■ to the federation as a means of assisting their parishioners. The assistant chief inspector of factories in the Labour Department, Mr Grant Ka-

mau, said church ministers were not regarded as "workers" within the terms of the Industrial Relations Act. “This precedent was established in the early 1970 s when similar wage regulations were introduced. “It was determined then that clergy could not be fitted into the definition of ’worker’ in an industrial sense, and therefore the law could not be applied to them." Mr Kamau said that in terms of the Industrial Relations Act, workers were defined as people employed for hire or reward. “Hire and reward" had a master-servant relationship attached to it. “But the Labour Department decided years ago there was no such relationship between a clergyman and his church,” Mr Kamau said. The Wellington Diocesan Synod of the Anglican Church decided on Monday to increase vicars’ incomes by $2831 to $15,516. The church’s press officer, Canon Tony Georgantis, said that the decision was made after a lot of “heartsearching” and debate. The general treasurer of

> the Presbyterian Church, Mr > David Larsen, said yesterday > that about 500 ministers > received an increase on July 1 — nine days after the implementation of the freeze. Mr Larsen said that the Church had taken legal opinion and checked with the Labour Department. Presbyterian ministers were now paid $14,900 a year. Mr Larsen said that the stipend adjustment due next year on July 1 would be based on movements in wages for the year ended March, 1982. The general-secretary of the Methodist Church for New Zealand, the Rev. Alan Woodley, said the 1981 conference decided in November to increase stipends, effective from July 1, 1983. The present stipend was $14,863, and the increase was based upon the movement in the consumers price index during the year to March 31, 1982. The National Director of Catholic Communications, the Reverend Jim Lyons said Catholic priests were paid a comparatively low stipend. “I am not aware of any move at the moment to increase the stipends," he said.