A QUESTION OF WAGES

Evening Post, Volume XCI, Issue 107, 6 May 1916, Page 9

A QUESTION OF WAGES

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir,—So the railwaymen have got their 'increased pay; more power to them! But what about the rest of us wage-earners? Are we to take action for increase„in accordance with our voting strength? And are some of us to be left with no increase of pay, because we are not organised enough to fight for it?

The Right Hon. Prime Minister seems to have missed his chance for a statesman's dealings with this problem. In the monthly abstract of statistics, which please note is "issued under the authority of the Government of New Zealand," we. read that for the year 1915 the average purchasing power of money for the four centres was 22s' 7£d for what 20s would purchase in the years 1909-1913. And as far as anyone can see the position is getting worse.

The solution is to make all payments of wages in the proportion of the* increase necessary, as shown by tlie statistics. Thus, for every 20s paid in wages, every wage-earner should receive 22s 7^d for this year. Each one of us can work out what this would mean in our own case. And next year the amount paid could be determined in the same way. Apparently there is any amount of money available in 'New Zealand to make the payments; you have only to see the numbers of motor-cars arriving ia .the Dominion.; one steamer, brought

no less than 300 the other day ' So there would be no difficulty in opposing a fair tax to provide the increased money

In fact, the solution is the obvious one of giving us in wages the amount of commodities and not the fictitious money value.

We. women now have the vote, and we .know the difficulty in the cost of living What we now want is a combined , action to get fair treatment.—l am, etc., STATISTICS. Ist May, 1916.