PROPOSED WAGES REDUCTION

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XX, Issue 238, 26 September 1930, Page 5

PROPOSED WAGES REDUCTION

TRADES COUNCIL RESENTMENT I Per Preu Association ) Wellington, Sept. 20. Strong resentment was expressed at a meeting of the Trades Council last night at the proposal made by employers to the acting Prime Minis ter that legislation should be introduced to give the Arbitration Court power to reduce wages by generaorder. A resolution was carried to thia effect; it added “that the council is fully alive to the hardship which has befallen the primary producer due to the sharp fall in the value of products in the world market. Reduction in the wages of workers who are under awards of the Court will, however, not afford the primarv producer any relief, and his difficulties are being used by the Employers’ Federation as an excuse to reduce wages. If real relief is tn be found attention must be directed to the verv jerioua over capitalisation in industries, and the writing down of values which were written up whilst high prices for our primary products were obtaining would go much further in the direction of relief. This should certainly precede any reduction in the wages of workers, who. hr such a reduction, would l»e less .able to assist the t primary producers in the local markets.”