Commercial Travellers’ Salaries

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 264, 4 August 1936, Page 11

Commercial Travellers’ Salaries

Sir—Now that salaries and wages are to be restored to those prevailing m 1931 for all employees working under awards, it might perhaps be just as well to draw the Minister’s attention to the conditions under which commercial travellers, representatives and salesmen now labour. Since 1931, we have suffered 20 per cent, salary cut, have suffered an increase in the exchange rate of lo per cent, been called upon to pay sales tax 5 per cent., suffered approximately la per cent, due to increased duties levelled during the period which the last Government held office, called upon to pay about 5 per cent, for unemployment relief* a ■* Now, since the cost of living has increased by approximately 20 per cent.-za per cent, owing to the restoration of salaries to the 1931 conditions, it will be seen that commercial travellers, working away from their homes, bO-JO hours per week, disposing of manufactured goods, which is the be-all and endall of all production, are qpw suffering a loss in real salary exceeding 7o per cent.!

Expressed in another way, commercial travellers earning £8 per week in 1931 "have suffered loss to the extent of £6 weekly during the past five years.— 1 am ’ etC ” C.T. New Plymouth, August 1.