Award talks to centre on inflation

Press, 26 February 1987, Page 1

Award talks to centre on inflation

PA Wellington Private and State sector unions yesterday indicated that the inflation rate for the March quarter would be a key element in deciding their position in their declared fight for workers’ living standards. A joint delegation from the Federation of Labour and Combined State Unions yesterday met Cabinet Ministers for more than an hour after union concern about the 8.9 per cent rise in the consumers price index for the final quarter of last year. In a joint statement last month the F.O.L. and C.S.U. called that increase, which brought inflation for the year to 18.2 per cent, “dramatic and disturbing.” After yesterday’s meeting, the F.O.L.’s secretary, Mr Ken Douglas, said there had been a general discussion covering the union movement’s concerns about the economy in the light of last year’s efforts to seek a managed wage round. The delegation had not made specific demands, but bad sought the meeting on the. basis of concerns about movements in the C.P.I. in the December quarter.

“The March quarter will really be a key element in what position is finally - adopted by the unions,” Mr Douglas said. Neither the separate F.O.L. four-point plan, which sought a Government commitment to maintain workers’ living standards, nor the question of a possible wages “top-up” had been discussed, he said. The Government would be responding to the unions’ concerns and there would be another meeting in a month’s time, Mr Douglas said. “It wasn’t anticipated on our side that the Government would say ‘yes, we should run out and give everyone a 10 per cent pay increase’. “We relayed to the Government the very real concern of the unions regarding living standards and jobs, what was happening with interest rates and what the likely impact of the next quarter’s inflation would be.” However, the direction of Government economic policies had not been discussed. . •

“It was really about the real-life issue of whether workers can survive. on the general level of wage movement which was negotiated last year.”