COST OF LIVING BONUS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 58, 2 December 1919, Page 2

COST OF LIVING BONUS

TO BE INCREASED NEXT YEAR

EXTRA PENNY PER HOUR >

Beforo commencing tlio hearing of the butchers' dispute in tho Arbitration Court yesterday, His Honour Mr. Justice Stringer niado a very important • uronouncoment regarding the bonus which the Court has been granting to unions in consideration of the increase in the cost of living. His Honour eaid:— "On April 19 last, tho Court fixed basio wagffl for three classes'of workers-skill-ed, semi-skilled, and- unskilled—which were not to be the subject of variation during tho currency of tho award. In addition to these basic wages, a bonus of 2Jd. per hour was granted, in order to compensate the worker for the increased cost of living, which bonus was to bo readjusted as on September 30 and March 31 in oach year in accordance with the increaso or decrease in tho cost of j living as ascertained by the Government Statistician to- bo tho average for the Dominion. The first readjustment was to take place as soon after September 30 as woe found practicable. The Court haa now. received from tho Government Statistician a report for the'six-monthly period above-mentioned. The investigation covers not only tho three food groups, rent, fuel and lighting, as shown in the monthly abstract of statistics for October last, but also tho items of clothing and drapery; in respect to which the Statistician haa made a special inquiry as to the increase in the prices of a number of more or less standard lines as sold by leading retailere throughout the Dominion. The Statistician reports to the Court that in order to compensate the worker for tho increased cost of living, the bonus should be increased to 3Jd. per hour. In future, therefore, : tho Court will grant to adult workers in all appropriate cases an additional bonus of W. per hour to workers on hourly wages and of 4s. per week to workers on weekly wages. , In the opinion of the Court tho increased bonue should take effect as from January 1 next. As it mil' he necessary for each case to no considered on its merits, formal applications for tho increased bonus will havo to be filed, nnd dealt with from time to time as the business of the Court will permit. Aβ, however, it' will be impossible ,to deal with applications throughout the Dominion in less than two or three .months, there being no machinery for making the order of general application, it is intended by the Court to make tiie operation of the bonus retrospective to January 1. lir applications which are confined to the increased bonus, it will not be necessary to lake such preliminary steps as aro prescribed by sub-section 5 of section 18 of the -War' Legislation and Statute Law Amendment Act, 1918."