YOUTH AND THE BASIC WAGE MORE FLEXIBILITY URGED HUTT VALLEY KENNEL CLUB

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 99, 28 April 1937, Page 8

YOUTH AND THE BASIC WAGE

MORE FLEXIBILITY URGED

HUTT VALLEY KENNEL CLUB

EMPLOYERS SHOULD CO-OPERATE

A suggestion that some flexibility should be introduced into the application of the basic wage was put forward at last night's meeting of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce by.Mr. R. H. Nimmo, as a means of overcoming the difficult position that arose through the non-employment of youths between the ages of eighteen and twenty-live years. The matter was discussed at some length, and after several other suggestions had been submitted, the following motion was carried unanimously:—"That the Associated Chambers of Commerce be requested to make urgent representation to the Government on the necessity of instituting an immediate investigation into the question of employment of youth in relation to the basic wage."

Mr. Nimmo said that the position in which many young men in their late teens and early twenties found themselves today was well known to the council. ■'■ These young men who were 16 and 17 years of age during the slump period now found themselves without qualification or con-tinuous-working experience to fit them for employment which would command the .basic "wage or the'minimum provided under the .respective awards. This concerned chiefly those of the unskilled, non-manual; type.; :; ■'■ ,;/

"Reinforcing- the ranks of unemployed young men today are those also who, during the depression years, were placed in dead-end : employment, and now find •themselves- thrown.. out:; of wbrk because employers are unable: or unwilling to meet the demands of the commencing adult wage," he continued. "No good -purpose would be served by attacking ; the basic wage. This has come and,:doubtless, has come to stay. It-may--.be'.subject to modifications, but. it is. hardly. likely, that the commencing basis for adult labour; will materially change, except, of course, in the circumstance of another slump. ,Then, ,doubtless, much of the present legislation will have to be jettisoned, including: these wage minima. Personally, I would .admit the principle of a basic wage, and would certainly agree with, protective laws in indusitry.[.'■ v ■ ■,'■;■ ■'■-.■'■.-.. ;■;: ; " ''■-.■'

"I do'.shafe with other members of the Chamber, however, the view that the '.rigid .application of certain of these laws'places extreme hardship on a certain-.group in the community^—l refer to young men, 18 to 25 years of age, and. this result possibly was not foreseen by, the promoters of the new legislation.

"The first question that the members of this Chamber must face is this: Are we able as employers' to do anything to provide channels of absorption for these young men—that is, of course, at the minima provided under the basic wage and the various awards? If we are able to do this then , can we, even at the point of sacrifice, give a certain preference to these young fellows? :;v ,-:..' SUGGESTED, STEPS. .... . .■.■ ~; 3 <: "Ifi ; we are";.unabl? to. do this, then rnay/i.we.ask ourselves, a second question :; What is ■hindering: us ■ from'■ doing ;.so?ivls:ii^ithat ;^we;,imagjne ilthai^we. ;cariTp.ot-d6;.'jit?;; ftfe are^tyejiuplafainst the^tark; reality ■ ofpthe s;irnpossibiiity: of; taking' on these :;ypung "men;; inexperienced and unqualified as theyare, at the rate prescribed under the new legislation? "Now,- assuming that we are unable, to provide employment for these young men,... what is the next step that we can take as reputable and representative citizens in the business community? It seems to,rrie\that these may be summed up under the following headings:— : "1. We must give to the community an earnest, that, we are prepared to co-operate, even if it hurts us todo so, with the Government or any other agency,1 in finding placements for these young ; men;

"2. We can sincerely recommend to the Government that, until the absorption of these young victims of the depression years has been completed, there should*, be a certain flexibility in the application of the wage minima —that is, in certain trades where there is a recognised shortage of labour. The entry of these men' into • industry, at less than prescribed rates can be covered in such a way so as not to prejudice the standard rates of, pay.,

. "3. We can ■'suggest to..the Government that a temporary scheme of employment, might be provided under conditions which would: guarantee the' training of these young fellows in certain of the arts and crafts. Many, of these are oh sustenance,' and it may be possible to use that sustenance as the subsidy." , " ■ The chairman .: (Mr. C. J. B. Norwood): A constructive suggestion. .■ "4. In cases where there is disability,, we Would suggest.to the Government "that the application .of : underrate workers' permits'should be less rigid. ■■.■■•' "Certain it is that if these young men, who' would provide the first-line troops in any.war emergency, continue to be neglected, then they will possibly become a subversive .influence which is a menace to any democratic community." . . - . CONSTRUCTIVE IDEA. Mr. J. T. Martin said that Mr.Nimmo, in 'suggesting some flexibility in the application of the ', basic wage, had Put forward something of a constructive nature. It appealed to the speaker as one way of getting'over the present difficulty. The position was a serious one, and they, should all do their best to get these young men back into work. "There is scarcely any one of us who does not have young men coming into the office and pointing out their difficulties of getting work," said Mr. Martin.. "And it is. always those between the ages of 19 and 22 years. But under the present legislation we cannot give them a start. We prefer the young chaps, as we usually get a well-edu-cated boy of a good type on'which to build. Other companies, of course, like to get boys of 15 or 16, after they leave secondary school." Mr. Martin pointed out;,the difficulty of taking a boyinto a business and placing Him,-by reason .of seniority in age, over the heads of boys who might have to teach him his job. ■ i : . The chairman: And pay him £3 18s 6d. ■'. •

Mr. M. G. C. McCat.il pointed out that the real-difficulty was that'the basic wage, was fixed at a certain; age, irrespective of the type of occupation. That ha>.: been thrashed out overithe council table, and before the legislation wns passed it was pointed out all over the country that in unskilled labour an j able man might well; be' Worth the basic wage at 21 years, but that a man could not, possibly be worth it in any skilled occupation where it took a man to 23 years and 25 years before he became capable. "If it were made possible for the Act to be amended to permit the Arbitration Court, when fixing hours and wages under each award, to fix the age at which the basic wage became applicable," suggested Mr McCaul. "the Court would have the necessary jurisdiction. It would then be for the ; employers and the employees to bring evidence for or against the fixing of the

basic wage age. It might'be found that the basic wage could well be fixed at 21 years, or even at 23 or 24 or 25 years, in the case of a professional accountant." Mr. McCaul said that under present conditions a lot of young men were going to be forced into manual work, when they had the real ability to enable them to serve the country in a better way by learning a trade. The Court should have tht power to fix different ages for different industries.

Mr. C. W. Mack referred to the shortage of men in the building trade because builders were not encouraged to take on apprentices.

Mr. G. Luke said that there were trades that could take on-youths, but because of the quota of apprentices in relation to journeymen, they were not allowed to do so.

Mr. A, L. Wall said that the position would have quite a serious effect o i the schools. He feared that the"se schools would have their rolls depleted, and would cater only for those boys whose parents could afford to keep them there. "Those who have been making sacrifices to keep their boys at school," he said, "are now finding that those sacrifices are becoming more onerous." EXEMPTION CERTIFICATE. Mr. S. Cory-Wright said that steps should be- taken to induce the Government this coming session to introduce legislation to enable these youths of 20 to learn a trade. A youth might find himself incapable of learning a trade because of the present' restrictions. He suggested that power should be given to the Court of Arbitration to give such a youth some exemption certificate from the basic wage on his own application, or- on a joint application. It would then be possible for him to learn the trade and earn the wages th-.'. the employer, could give.

Mr. D. J. McGowan instanced a case of a boy of 18 years who had had no experience as a motor mechanic. He had been engaged, but the Labour Department had said that the boy was to be paid as for three years' experience. The boy had to go back to running messages, and one with the requisite experience taken on. Mr, W. Hammond said that under present conditions employers could not lake them at 18 years, because they had to be paid too high a wage. In addition to that, they were liable to upset the office in the way Mr. Martin had suggested. -■', He hoped that something could be''done along the lines suggested by Mr. Nimmo. Mr. W. S. Cederholm said that the basic wage did not apply to apprenticeship contracts that existed at the time of the passing of the legislation. He suggested that that principle should be extended to new contracts, and that the Apprenticeship Act should have a more general application—that, is, to those trades that did not indenture apprentices The chairman said that the young men they were talking about were the product of the slump.. There was a large army of them, and in their ranks were some of the best of the country's youth. He considered that the basic wage had come to stay, and that there must be some practical suggestion outside the "amending of the Act. They, and the Government, owed it to these youths to do something for them.

The annual meeting-of the Hutt Valley Kennel Club, held in the Horticultural Hall on Monday evening, was well attended. \ : ■ ■: . Dr. G. F. V. Anson,, the president, said that the position was eminently satisfactory for a new club. Most of the credit was due to the labours of a few enthusiastic supporters. If the present .progress continued, .the sue-, cess of the club was assured., Messrs. G. Waclbow, B. Duley, A. S Brown, and P. W. Willson were unanimously elected life members. Captain W. Olphert paid a tribute to the work put in by these members in the construction of the club's bench'nThe women members of the club were thanked for their efforts The club's, parades were^tated to have been very successful. The popuarity of field trials for gun dogs had ncreased notably and these trials had been enthusiastically supported -by competitors and members of the club aSF a or Wth°e leannual show held last year -entries were received from as far afield as-Auckland and Dunedin. The club's benching had been the subject of much favourable comment. It was reported that the New Zealand Kennel Club executive had approved of the show, being held on September 8 and 9 of this year, ■ Twelve new members were elected. Officers were elected as follows: — Patron Mr. Eric Riddiford; president, Dr G F. V. Anson; vice-presidents, Messrs.: D. A. Ewen, A. Gadsby,■;. J, Mason, H. G. Teagle, L. T. Watkins, J Brassel. E. P. Bunny, W. E. Dickenson. Mesdames T. H. Campbell, Knox Gilmer, W. R. Kettle, V. Riddiford, G F. V. Anson, H. Jackson, K. Rod. Hall and Drs. Aldred and : Norman Jones: executive vice-presidents,'. Captain W. Olphert and Mr. A. J. Gearing; management committee, ' Messrs. E. Hall, M. J. Maguire, S. Rod, L. Hayton, W. J. England. F. Cooze, R. Watson, F. Eales, R. W. Plunkett, P. W. Willson; delegates to New Zealand Kennel Club (Incorporated), Dr. G. F. V, Anson, Captain-Wybrants Olphert; show manager, Mr. A. S, Brown; assistant show managers. Messrs. H. O. Saunders, G. Wackrow; veterinary surgeon. Mr. F. Crossley; solicitor, Mr. A. M. Haldane; .secretary-treasurer, Mr. C. H. Ritzmer. * ,