BUILDING COSTS AND WAGES.

Evening Post, Volume XCI, Issue 143, 17 June 1916, Page 10

BUILDING COSTS AND WAGES.

Quite an interesting little contribution to the controversy on wages, 10 per cent, bonus, and the cost of living is made by a correspondent of the Marjawatu Standard, J. Hodgins. In reply to the assertion of the 'Builders' Association that a 10 per cent, bonus cannot be given because contracts have been based on existing rates of wages, Mr. Hodgins states : " Yet, when corrugated iron rose from £19 10s psr ton to £40 per ton owing to the war, not a. single one filed. White lead, glass, and all sub-contractors' materials jumped 100 per cent, owing to the same cause, and still they exist, . but if the men get a fractional part of an increase it's .going to sink the ship. Why, its simply absurd. Take a- five-roomed house, at the present rate of pay {Is 6d per hour), carpenters' labour or wages to complete same is from £35 to £40; 10 per cent.' increase, which will sink the ship, amounts to £4, taking the maximum. The master's horse gets his feed, war or no war ; the carpenter with children must eit at table with them and deny them milk a.t'sd a pint, meat at 9-£ d for chops, butter at Is 7d'per pound, sugar at 3|d per pound." ' PIECEWORK AND STRIKE LAW. A cryptic message received a. fortnight back from Melbourne stated that Labour had presented reports to the Minister in Victoria- suggesting, among other things, the more general adoption of piecework as a correction for slowing down. One could place no other interpretation on the message than that some representatives of Labour had made a recommendation of a most surprising character. Melbourne files, however, show that the cabled reference was to reports received by the Minister for Labour (Sir Alexander Peacock) from the Secretary for Labour (Mr. H. M. Murphy). Mr. Murphy visited. New Zealand a year ago in the course of a tour undertaken for the purpose of investigating industrial legislation, trovision for holding secret ballots among employees was a feature of his principal report*, and it w-as ia a special industrial report that ho recommended the more general adoption of piecework in framing the determination of-wages boards, as a correction for slowing down, and profit-sharing, as an incentive to employees to do good and efficient work. Anti-strike legislation is to be introduced in the coming session of the Victorian Parliament, and will most probably provide for penalties in the event of strik.es or lock-outs. Mr. Murphy's piecework and profit-sharing proposals called forth opposition from the Trades Hall.