Pre-wage round haggling begins

Press, 3 August 1985, Page 8

Pre-wage round haggling begins

PA Wellington The Federation of Labour and the Combined State Unions will meet the Government on Monday to start bargaining about the coming wage round. The Employers’ Federation will attend equivalent talks with the Government on Wednesday. The meetings are the latest development in the series of tripartite talks between the Government and sector organisations that must be held before each wage round. One option for the talks is to issue a guideline for individual employers and unions as to what level of increase should be the overall national average. Such a guideline would require a consensus between the three sides both on what increases wage, and salary earners deserve, and what the economy can afford.

Such a consensus seems unlikely at the moment because of the gulf of opinion between the three sides on what the economy is doing and what it needs. However, even if no guideline emerges the talks, will be important in terms of what finally happens in the wage round starting on September 16. On the night the trendsetter awards were settled in the last wage round, the Government played a key role in determining what level of increases was politically acceptable. This year the unions have suggested a minimum wage of 5208 a week, but this would put up the basic rate in 121 awards, according to the Employers’ Federation. The employers favour an increase that would not disturb existing awards, its figure being 5145.