THE FOURTH DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 72, 26 March 1931, Page 14

THE FOURTH DAY

LABOUR "STONEWALL"

MINISTER SUPPLIES FIGURES

THE SALARY QUESTION

Drearily and tediously, the long obslructivc debate on the Financo Bill was coiilimiod in the House of lleprcscntalivcs to-day after the third consecutive all-night sitting. After breakfast a motion to report progress which had boon ■discussed since before daylight lapsed owing to tho breakfast adjournment, and Mr. M. J. Savage (Labour, Auckland West) resumed tho discussion on the topic of the amendment limiting the proposed cut to the salaries of Civil servants receiving £275 and over. Mr. J. M'Combs (Labour, Lyttelton) said that several Clu-istchureli manufactures had told him that a wage cut, if confined to their own factories, would be an advantage to them, but that a general rcduc.tiou would prejudice them through a big decrease iv purchasing power. "This amendment will put to tho tost those who say they sympathise with the low-paid men," said Mr. K. Scmple (Labour, "Wellington East). "It will separate the wheat from the straw." EFFECT OF AMENDMENT. In response to ah appeal from Mr. Howard, the Minister of Native Affairs (Sir Apirn.ua Ngatn), who was temporarily in charge of the Bill, said it was estimated that, if tho amendment' to exclude from the reduction a sum. of £275 in all salaries throughout the Civil Service were carried, tho Government's saving in consequence of the 10 per cent, cut would amount to something under £200,000. Labour members pointed out that the Prime Minister had stated that there would be a saving of £200,000 if. the exemption applied to £400. Surely there was some mistake in the figures. Sir Apirana Ngata said there had been a misunderstanding when the first calculation had been made as to the extent to -which it was proposed to apply tho exemption. It had not then, been understood that the amendment contemplated the exemption of £400 in all salaries, otherwise the figure given by the Prime Minister to represent the estimated saving -which would be effected by tho amended cut would Lave been much lower than £200,000. Continuing, Sir Apirana said figures supplied by the Treasury indicated that if there was a general exemption of £275 the saving in Civil servants' salaries would bo reduced to something under £200,000; a general exemption of £250 would produce a saving of £220,000; a general exemption of £22.j would produce a saving of £;-i00,000; and a general exemption of £200 would produce ,i saving of £330,000. Those sums had 1o bo compared --with the saving of £3,39.0,000 -which would bo effected by a general 10 per cent, cut throughout the service. , Sir Apirana added that there were .11,2f)G Civil servants whoso salaries wore over £295 per annum. Their total salaries amounted to £4,031,950, and if a ten per cent, cut -was applied to them, without any exemption, the saving in the Government's salary bill would amount, to £-103,000. NOT UNDERSTOOD. Subsequent Labour speakers found a means of carrying the debate on by declaring in five-minute speeches that •they could not follow the Minister's figures. "We arc not second lighter?," remarked Mr. E. J. Howard. (Labour, Christ-church South). "We can't see through brick walls." He suggested that the whole basis of the Minister's calculation was wrong. Tho Minister gave a detailed analysis of the number of officers in the service on the various salary bases, and the total salaries under each heading, as follows: — Above j\~o. of Officers Total Salary £ £ 295 n,Rfl<) 4,631,050 250 21,076 7,586,155 COO 32,962 10,110,710 175 35,240 10,543,451 150' 36,610 10,761,286 Sir Apirana. said that members could use the figures to make their own deductions as to the effect of applying the rut above the various salaries. The lota lof permanent officers, he said, was 43.606, receiving £11,499,818, and the tnfal of temporary employees was .11.02.1, receiving £2,417,1(>5. The grand ■total of employees thus received £13,910,986, and it was on that, total ■that the Government estimated that a 10 per cent, cut would effect an annual saving of £1,399,000. The information given by the Minister supplied the obstructionists with further ammunition —mostly blank— with which to continue the bombardment; NOT TOO LATE TO CHANGE. Mr. A. Harris (Reform, Waitcmata) said he. thought, that if a man earning £300 per annum was to be subject to the cut, it would not bo unreasonable to expect those on £275 to make some sacrifice, however small. ■He wished io state, however, that he intended to vote in favour of the next amendment 1o be moved, which would exempt the maii on £250, per annum, and would also support subsequent amendments dealing with sums below that figure. He suggested that even now it was not too Jatc for the Government to change its plan" He could not conceive that even the Government in its own heart believed, that the flat rate of reduction was the fairest way. P. AND T. WAGE REDUCTIONS. Several Labour members stressed the fact that as the Post Office account, js separate from the consolidated revenue, any deductions from the salaries of thousands of employees in tho 1. and T service would not go to balance the Budget,.but benefit tho Post Office account. . The Chairman of Committees eventually ruled thfit that point had been sufficiently discussed, and that any reference to the balancing of the Budget was foreign to the clause under discussion. The Leader of thu Labour Party (Air. IT. E. Holland) raised a point of order that the purpose of the cut was to balance the Budget, and that it was tho central feature of, the clause. The Chairman: "The clause -under discussion is simply concerned with the definition of tho word 'salary.'" The Minister of Education, who was temporarily in charge of the Bill, explained that a further legislative provision would be introduced by tho Government to enable . the Consolidated Fund to get the benefit of the amount of the salary reductions in the P. and T. service. The amendment was still under discussion when the luncheon adjournment was taken. "AVERT POLITICAL CRISIS." The resumption at 2.30 p.m. saw the debate on Mr. O'Brien's amendment continued. M.r. i'rascr said he prophesied that before the, afternoon was over there would be evidence that. a. meeting ground would bo required between the Government and its opponents. He asked the Prime Minister if he could not nifiet; the Labour Party in some yrayin providing for the loweT-paid

men. "Before a political crisis develops—and it is not to be scoffed at—l ask tho Prime Minister to take the position onco more into careful consideration," said Mr. Fraser. If the Government told the House that it could voto according to its wishes, he was sure that the wages of tho lowerpaid men would not bo reduced. At 2.40 p.m. the Chairman of Committees intimated that ho would not allow further appeals to the Prime Minister to bo made on the ground of tedious repetition. OFFER TO GOVERNMENT. Mr. H. M. Campbell (Reform, Hawkcs Bay) contended that tho_ stage had been reached when tho trial of strength should be taken, particularly as the important legislation concerning the rehabilitation of Hawkes Bay was being hold up as a consequence of the debate. Surely after three days' consideration, Ihe House knew how it would vote on the proposals of the Finance Bill. Tho Leader of the Labour Party said every member of the House was extre.mely anxious to facilitate the earthquake legislation, but he understood the legislation was not yet ready to bo introduced. As soon as the legislation was ready tho Labour Party would be willing to suspend the Standing Orders in order that it might go through in one evening's sitting. Ho made that offer on behalf of tho Labour Party. At 3 p.m. tho House had completed 50 sitting hours.