BASIC WAGE

Grey River Argus, 21 October 1936, Page 5

BASIC WAGE

TEACHERS’ OBJECTION 21 Years Too Early (Per Press Association). WELLINGTON. October 20. At the. Basie AVago Inquiry, A. Armour, Headmaster of Wellington College, and President of the New Zealand Secondary 'Schools’ Association, gave evidence. He said: “The general opinion among secondary school teachers is tlunt 21 years is too low for the application of the basic wage.” He staled that children were likely to leave school too soon, and employers were likely to be deprived of the services of well-educated youths. The basic wage should not operate before lhe nee of 23 years. He continued: “The evils arising from the operation of the basic wage at the age of 21 years, so far as our schools are concerned are as follows;— (1") The children t're likely to bo deprived of a very valuable portion of their education. (2't The employers ‘are likolv io be deprived of the services of well-edueat ed youths, since they will be contpelled to appoint less-mature but more poor-ly-equipped. youths. The higher the general educational level of an employee. the better should ho be adapted to promote the interests- of his employer’s business, mnd thus the business of the whole country.

(3) The business of our schools" is to prepare pupils to earn a living, but, in addition, to train them for life, and for the increasing leisure that is to be theirs. This, we consider, is most important. Unless our schools' are given time to prepare our young people for the- proper enjoyment and use of life and of leisure time, they will cease to perform one of the most vnlupble functions. Such preparation will be impossible if our young people are to go off to work at the age of 15.

(4) Another likely evil, should there be a general exodus from on'- *''hools before the attainment bv the .moils of their 16th year, -will be a tendency toward excessive cram'. Parents will endeavour, in the brief post-pi'imnrv neriod at the disposal of their children, to force the pace at which advancement should be made. Even today. much of the work of ou>- schools is too hurried, so that full advantage of it is not gained by hirny pupils. With the operation of the b.is’p wage at 21 years, that position will be much worse.” MTt BISHOP’S ARGUMENT. WELLINGTON, October 29. At the Arbitration Court, Air Bishon said' that if a basic wage were once declared, if would be a foundation fo* a now wage structure and it was essential that the declaration should be economically sound. If was open to the Court, in making anv new award, (o include a scale of wages which would determine, in each ease, af what age the basic wage should’ aT>nly. He called : .llent : on to the fact ‘h-if the hypothetical family of five was not a true average for the family of the New Zealand male wage earner, ip prsumed the existence of ninetvceven thousand non-existent wives, and rpprox-nnately half a million nonexistent children, There was. lie =aid. n neeess’ty for a declaration of a basic wave on a daily basis rind an hourly basts ;,s well as a weekly basts ac a weekly basis would not be annlicnlde to the case of a very large number of casual workers.