Reform of wage-fixing?

Press, 18 November 1982, Page 6

Reform of wage-fixing?

PA Wellington The Government would study reforming the wagefixing system after the wageprice freeze is over, said the Minister of Labour. Mr Bolger, yesterday. In an address to the OtagoSouthland Employers’ Association, Mr Bolger said that another round of talks between the Government, the employers, and the unions on the subject of reform seemed a logical first step. Mr Bolger discussed in detail three issues related to wage-fixing: the extent that collective bargaining should be regulated, centralisation or decentralisation of wagefixing, and whether the bargaining system should be occupation-based or industrybased.

Wage-fixing had not captured the public imagination because it was so complex,

Mr Bolger said. But it was a subject he wanted to draw attention to because of its considerable importance. The most important issue was the degree to which collective bargaining should be centralised or decentralised. At present, New Zealand tended to treat workers uniformly, irrespective of their skills, unlike countries such as the United States, where pay was often negotiated at the plant or company level. "The main danger with attempting decentralisation is that the tightness in existing wage relativities may result in a considerable lag in the adaptation of the wage-fixing system to the changed economic environment,” Mr Bolger said. If such a system was adopted it would have to be a flexible one, Mr Bolger said.