AWARD RATES

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 February 1930, Page 10

AWARD RATES

STATEMENT: by JUSTICE FRAZER. (Per Preaa AeeooiMion.) ■AUCKLAND, February 14. “The Arbitration Court is regarded as the keeper of New Zealand’s national conscience of industrial conditions and rates of pay for the Dominion,” said Mr Justice Frazer this morning in an interesting outline of the principles on which the Court operated. The homily was prompted by some doubt in the minds of the parties to the application for an award for wholesale ironmongery and hardware assistants by the Auckland Storemen’s and Packers’ Union concerning the basis on which the Court fixed wages and conditions of work in the various trades and industries coming under its jurisdiction. The Judge pointed out that the Court was empowered to fix the minimum rates of wages which should aply to workers who were just efficient, just competent and no more. It was left to the employer, as he thought fit, to adjust the standard of pay for employees, whose ability and qualifications were higher. In Australia, for instance, said his Honor, there was a tendency to fix wages on a minimum basis, irrespective of the merits of individual workers and some years ago New Zealand Unions held the opinion that because some employees were paid on a higher scale than others, this standard should be generally accepted as the minimum rate of w'ages throughout a particular industry. This attitude, however, had been gradually disappearing in this Dominion, the Judge said. It was recognised that there was a tendency to bring rates of pay down to a minimum, and the Court adjusted wages on this basis, having regard to the cost of living ruling at that particular time, the economic conditions of the country and the position of the industry in which ,the award was sought. “It is recognised at the present time that all trades and industries are ex periencing slack and lean times,” the Judge said. “This situation occurred previously and we got out of it. It will happen again, and we will overcome it again.” One of the underlying principles of the Court’s operations was to fix a standard of wages taking into consideration the condition of the industry during times of depression so that wages would not bear heavily on the average employer and yet permit him to pay more to men exceeding average ability.