Employers urge more in-house wage deals

Press, 22 December 1986, Page 10

Employers urge more in-house wage deals

More employers should approach their workers with in-house wage settlements, according to an Employers’ Association report.

Last week’s wage round report said clear trends seemed to be emerging, with companies that approached their workers for in-house deals achieving relatively low settlements.

“While employers motivate themselves to communicate with their own workers they obtain settlements at 7 per cent or less,” the report said. “If however, they’ve done nothing and a union official comes knocking on the door the settlements appear to be more expensive.” Mr Roger Brott, the

president of the Canterbury Trades Council, said all employers were bound by national awards, and could not settle in-house agreements at a lower rate.

“If you pay 10c a week less than that, it can be enforced,” he said. Mr Brott said the statement in the report was one move toward trying to dismantle the national award system. If this did happen it would benefit neither employers nor employees, he said. Twenty-one awards were settled last week, the report said, with most of them at 7 per cent or lower. The lowest settlement for the week was the Cleaners and Caretakers’ Union, at 5.8 per cent on

wages and allowances. Private hospital nurses settled at 6 per cent. Passenger transport drivers, and three oil company unions all settled at between 6 per cent and 7 per cent. A 7 per pent settlement was shared by metal tradesmen, brick, tile and pottery workers, painters and decorators, carpet workers, stonemasons, foodstuffs and chemical workers, bakers and pastrycooks, storage battery workers, local body labourers, and store and warehouse workers. Insurance' workers settled at 7.2 per cent, and furniture trades workers, chartered club employees and motion picture projectionists settled at 7.5 per cent.