WAGES CUT IN N.S.W.

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 107, 2 November 1933, Page 11

WAGES CUT IN N.S.W.

SURPRISE DECLARATION

MANY FIRMS IGNORE IT

(From "The Post's" Representative.) .■■■■;■■.' SYDNEY, October. 26. No wage declaration in New .South Wales has created greater disappointment than that just promulgated by the Industrial Commission, under which the basic wage for the' State comes down by 2s a week. In many quarters it was anticipated that there would be a slight rjse, but under the provisions of the statute the Commission was unable to'agreo to, this.. Its declaration was in the nature of-a-legal judgment, far different;to the human document a wage declaration should be. It was •just a bald 'statement of the facts or the case, setting out why a certain wage should,rule;for ,a man and Uis Wife and some mythical part of a child. It ia assumed-that the remainder of the child and whatever brothers and sisters he will have are provided for under the child endowment scheme. The new wage for adult male employees; is £3 6s 6d a week, and for adult female employees £116s a week. The disappointment at the decrease is shared1 by .employbes arid, employers alike. As a matter of'fact, many big firms in the city announced almost im-mediately-that ;the cut; would not apply to any sections of their ■ staffs. In every instance the tenor of the statpments was the same. It -:was" claimed that there was. definite evidence that the State was recovering its prosperity, and that being so there- was no need to cut wages and so < reduce the spending power .of the, community as a whole. Lower wages would mean a setback to business at a time when such.a setback had to be avoided. Nobody had asked for lower wage*, and no matter what any ,Court said,common sense should prevail and. the declaration be ignored. It is significant that most of the big retail,firins, have, decided not to apply the cut, but there has been no such declaration from, the manufacturers. ' ~*.'' 'v : ■'• :■' .-. !. . >'■••■ : . .'■■ "■ ■ On all hands it has, been urged that the Government should introduce legislation which, would set aside- the new basic wage and . permit: matters, to go on as they are. The Government, however, has not-been stampeded, into any guch action. When the question was introduced into Parliament the Premier (Mr. Stevens) said that the amount of wages paid was a matter,; for the individual employer. Tho Commission did not fix a maximum wage, but a, minimum, /thus protecting the worker to .that extent at least. If an employer wanted.-to pay a, higher rate he was at liberty, to. do.so; and. at. any rate tho fixation ojt wages was not a matter -for a Government, except that a Government should sec that there was no unfair exploitation of the workers. The basis upon which tho standard living wage in New South Wales is fixed was settled in 1929, and the question arises whether it is a fair one. This is a point, which the Government is prepared to consider! It was pointed out by Mr. Stevens that the Commission, in deciding the cost of living, had used the Statistician's -figures! in relation to each item of the regimen. The Government was not prepared to give any direction to the Commission, and lie was sure that the workers would prefer to believe that the tribunal was beyond political control. The only consideration that would weigh with tho Government* was the economic consequences, that attached to the declaration of the living wage. Tho public and the workers could rest assured'that any action taken by the Government would be regulated to meet the economic consequences of. any decision. As far as its. own employees . were concerned the Government stood by tho policy with regard, to the rise and fall in the cost of living, and proposed that the cut should apply automatically. But, in view of the fact that civil servants and other Crown employees had already had their wages reduced, it would review the whole position, and the great bulk of the nien would not be affected by the recent decision.' That the basis used in arriving at a ■living wage is unsatisfactory is shown by a study of ■ the State and Federal basic wages. The Federal Arbitration Court has fixed the basic wage in New South Wales at £3 ,14s. This is for a. man, wife, and two children. In rocont years the State wage has fluctuated' in a remarkable manner. Here arc the figures:—February, 1014, £2 8s; December, 1915, £2 12s 6d; August, 1916, £2 15s 6d; September, 1918, £3; October, 1919, £3 17s; October, 1920, £4 ss; October, 1921, £4 2s;, May, 1922, £3 18s; April, 1923, £3 IDs; September, 1923, £4 2a; August, 1925, £4 4s; June, 1927, £4 7s; December, 1929, £4 2s 6d; August, 1932, £3 10s; May, 1933, £3 8s 6d. Manufacturers claim that tho decreases that have been made in recent years in the living wage have been reflected in- tho lower prices of articles sold. They say that the latest cut will be reflected in the new price lists, and that in consequence the turnover will be larger, more men "will bo employed, and the State as a. .whole will take another stride towards prosperity.