Wage-guide date

Press, 2 November 1984, Page 1

Wage-guide date

By PATRICIA HERBERT in Wellington

Plans are to have the guidelines for the Decmeber wage round set by November 21.

They will be fixed by a tripartite committee representing unions, employers, and the Government which met briefly in the Beehive yesterday to establish a working party and to draw up a timetable for future meetings.

The committee will next meet on November 6, two days before the Budget is released, then again on November 14 and 15. No Cabinet members will attend these meetings, but provision has been made for two plenary sessions on November 19 and 21, which will be attended by the Minister of Labour, Mr Rodger, the Minister of Finance, Mr Douglas, the Associate Minister of Finance, Mr Prebble, and perhaps the Prime Minister, Mr Lange.

The final decision will be made at these meetings.

The Government is believed to be pushing for a 3 per cent limit on the round which would mean an extra $9 a week before tax for the average wage-earner.

In real terms, this would represent an increase of 5.8 to 5.9 per cent because the $8 a week cost-of-living adjustment handed down earlier this year will be built into basic award rates pushing ’them up 2.8 to 2.9 per cent. This will be accompanied by provisions in the Budget to protect the low-income earner and a demand that the business community exercise price restraint. The Employers’ Federation is thought to be wanting a nil per cent increase but might be prepared to take a softer line. Some employer advocates are said to be privately floating the idea of a 4 per cent ceiling to unionists.

The Federation of Labour,

according to one of its executive members, Mr Rob Campbell, has yet to formulate a specific wage proposal for the talks.

Individual unions have been talking of pay claims in the 10 to 20 per cent range but these relate to provision to be made under the new wage-fixing system for increases above the guideline in special cases.

The line the F.O.L. adopts may, therefore, be quite different.

The secretary of the Electrical Workers’ Union, Mr Tony Neary, ; has already lodged claims with the employers for a 20 per cent wage rise and a 25 per cent increase in allowances, the “New Zealand Herald” reported yesterday. This may turn the round into a bumpy ride. Mr Neary negotiates the electrical contractors’ award which is traditionally a trend-setter and is set down for conciliation on December 3 to 6.