FACTS! FACTS!

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 32, 6 August 1930, Page 10

FACTS! FACTS!

EFFICIENCY TEST

EMPLOYERS MUST MEET IT

"CARDS ON THE TABLE"

"Remember Lenin's saying that Paissia could be saved only by accountancy." . Yesterday's article on the Giblin Lettors ("Letters to John Smith," printed iv the Melbourne "Herald") finished on the note that in all matters of capital and labour;* of protected manufacturer and consumer, or of any other economic problem where a balance has to be struck between this and that, tlie key to the situation is facts. Problems arc solved not by principles, but by ita application of principles to facts. If the facts are not facts, the .'basis, is faulty. . Therefore fact-finding processes arc of vital importance. WAGE-RISE, NOT PRICE : RISE. Professor Giblin says to the John." Smiths: "I do not suggest that you should agree unconditionally to'a fall in wages. Far from it! You should make terms. In every kind of work there is room for improvement. . : The cost of production can be cut ■ down apart from wages, and so the ■wealth per worker can be increased. You must keep up your pressure for high wages, because that pressure stirs up the managers-to efficient jjroduetHm. But you must be able to recognise facts without breaking your head against them. The pressure for high wages can work well in unsheltered industry so long as it recognises facts. But in sheltered and protected industry it is liable to lead to higher prices, which recoil on your own heads. So in these industries you must press for' higher vages with no increase of prices." :■ In passing it may be noted that the New Zealand Manufacturers' federation has made the factor of price a cardinal point In its propaganda, and has pressed for the setting up of an unbiased and expert tribunal, which shall be competent to sift artificial industries from industries that have a chance to produce at a fair wage and a fair price. All that of course implies fact-finding. : •.■-.- JOHN SMITH, UNION SECRETARY, F.I.A.N.Z. . Continuing his plea to John Smith, Professor Giblin thus outlines the employee attitude as he would have it:' "Your terms should be 'cards on the table, and if you can show us that higher wages are impossible or even that lower wages are necessary we -will agree.' For that you must have delegates who understand accounts and have some knowledge of business and some practical judgment; and you must trust them. You have plenty of able men in your unions. . . They should be giving their minds more to the understanding of business administration. Bemember Lenin's saying that Eus3ia could only be saved by accountancy. Courses of training should be taken up by younger men who hope to be Labour leaders; and here the university; can help. I know it is not going to bo easy. It will not be easy all at once to find men who can properly represent you in this sort of free conference with employers and managers. It is going to be very hard for you to •trust them and be loyal to the arrangements they make." . CONFIDENTIAL FACTS. One of ■ the • factors in distrust, tie professor goes on to observe, is the restrictions of confidence' imposed on communication to' labour representatives of certain ■ essential facts from employers' books. These representatives "will have confidential information given them, which they can-; not pass on to you. .They will examine books and learn things about profits and losses which they must keep to themselves. And you have to learn to trust the men you have chosen for this job when they say, 'We have examined the whole business, and there is no hope of a rise' —or, even in extreme cases, 'We must take a cut in wages.' It will not be easy, and will not'come all at-once; but it is worth: trying.. - "The great point is that the facts about your industry, its costs, and profits should be known all the time—not just at a crisis—so. that you. can feel sure that there's no catch in it when a crisis comes. The facts about a single business may have-to be confidential, but those about the whole industry— ,say, woollen mills or bakeries —can and should be made public. You ought to know and understand them, and the general public which buys the goods ought to know also. "This has been done in some1 industries in England, particularly potteries and wire-working, with- very good; results to wages and the prosperity of these industries generally.- There is a ■little book called 'The Facts of Industry, ' written by a committee of employers, union leaders, and/economists in England, which has a great deal of information on what is and can be done in this way. It is published at Is, and should be studied by everyone concerned in labour questions." . OTHER THINGS THAN WAGE MUST FALL. As knowledge is the key to power, it is fitting that Professor Giblin should conclude his "Letters to John Smith" with a renewal of the fact-finding plea. especially in its relation to prices:-— "Wages, then, have been too high, and must come down for a while. But a mere fall in wages won't mend things. A drop in wages is one of the conditions necessary to restore industry, but it won't do much by itself. It must be accompanied by decrease in prices. We want decreasing costs and decreasing prices passed right through to the export and other unsheltered industries, so that they can stand up to the increasing competition of other countries. Wages are only one element of costs, and often not the most important. There is room for" improvement at every stage of production, particularly in the sheltered and protected industries. They want continual pressure to efficiency, and you are the people who ought to press, because higher wages depend on it.

"When you are clear that there,is a limit to wages and have learned to recognise that limit when the employer gives you the facts,- then you are in a position 'to apply the pressure.' Then you.can say 'Higher wages without higher prices or the reason why not,' and the employer will be bound to meet you. There are some ante-diluvians left still, but in general he will be glad to meet you and get down to facts. Facts are what you want. Waving banners on either side, in the streets, or in leading articles, is a poor game, and takes .us nowhere. "Facts, John, facts!"