WELCOME MOVE

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 78, 29 September 1934, Page 15

WELCOME MOVE

SALARIES AND PENSIONS

COUNCIL ENDORSES

INCREASES

The Finance Bill (No. 2) providing for an increase of 5 per cent, in tho wages and salaries of the State employees and in old age and South African veterans' pensions was put through all stages and passed by the Legislative Council yesterday afternoon. Continuing the debate on the second reading of the Bill, the Hon. W. H. McIntyre said thai; he did not agree with the proposal of the Government to increase the salaries of members of Parliament and State employees at the present time. The improvement in the Government's finances was due to the super sales.tax, and that tax should be removed before any restoration of salaries was made. It was wrong in principle that the people of the Dominion, many of whom were in a much worse position than the civil servants, should be called upon to pay the sales tax while cuts were being restored. In the near future there would be a general appeal for wage increases. The Hon. T. O'Byrne: Quite right, too. . . Mr. Melntyre: I agree, provided industry is in a position to pay. Mr. Melntyre said that the civil servants had so much voting power that they should be placed in a special class, like the • Maoris, and given separate representation in Parliament. They could be given three or four seats, and if that was done there would be less pressure on the Government. If a restriction was placed on the amount that could be earned by an old age pensioner, then a similar restriction should be placed on superannuitants. Ihe Hon. T. Bloodworth said that there were thousands' of people not affected by the Bill, and they might well apply the Biblical saying and " Rejoice j with those who would rejoice and weep with those who weep." Several classes of pensions had been left out of the Bill, and there was no provision for the restoration of cuts to workers under awards. These cuts had been made by a general order of the Arbitration Court to which the -workers could not now appeal, except with the consent of the employers. It was unfair that the workers could not ask for an order similar to that applied for by the employers. It was impossible for individual employers to raise wages, unless they had an assurance that their competitors would do likewise. The Bill did not make provision for the unemployed who were inadequately provided for. There were at least 180,000 either unemployed or dependent on the unemployed, and they should be the first consideration of tho State. He urged that the Court of Arbitration should be given the right to make a general order to the workers in the same way as it gave an order to the employers. POPULATION QUESTION. A large part of the continued prosperity of the country was due to the continued increase in the population, but today the increase was the lowest since 1891, said Mr. Bloodworth. The only way in which they could improve that condition was to improve the industrial conditions to such an extent that peoplo would be induced to come to the Dominion. The Government, during the depression, had safeguarded the money interests, at the expense of the human interests, although some steps had been taken in the latter direction recently. The Hon. M. Fagan said that, aa one who had opposed the reduction in salaries and pensions, he welcomed the Bill as a move in the right direction. He regretted that the Bill did not contain a provision to assist those outside1 the Public Service to obtain a restoration of the wage reductions they had suffered. There had been 100 per cent, rise in the price of gold, and surely the workers in the gold mining industry were entitled to a restoration of the cut. It was unfair that at least one mining company should be paying 10 per cent, less than the pro-slump wage. The Hon. V. A. Ward said that the Bill was a concrete example of tho optimism of the Government. It was gratifying to know that the State finances had improved to such an extent that salary and pension increases could now bo made. It would bo generally agreed that the Ministers of the Crown in New Zealand were not well paid, in comparison with Ministers in other countries. The Prime Minister, for ex-' ample, received £1377, and the other Ministers £895. v Mr.'Ward said that he was extremely pleased that increases were being made in the old age pensions. • The Bill was put through the remaining stage and passed.