IRRITATING CONDITIONS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LI, Issue 94, 21 March 1931, Page 8

IRRITATING CONDITIONS.

THE AWARD SYSTEM. (By Telegraph.—Special to Standard.) WELLINGTON, March 21. Many members on the Reform side of the House of Representatives, stated Mr F. Waite during 'discussion of the Finance Bill, would like to go further than its provision -that the Arbitration Court may make general orders affecting minimum wages. He was following up references of the previous evening by another member of the party, who had described in detail what he termed the irritating restrictions which, much more than wages, constituted a burden on industry. Mr Waite stated that a number of his colleagues were of the opinion that the measure should go further than wages. When a farmer wanted to sell his butter, and the demand was slow, he had to reduce the price until the butter commenced to move off. An employer had no such alternative, but simply to continue paying higli wages until he cc-nld do so no longer, and then discharge his hands. The clamour of every citizen seemed to bq that, he had a right:to a job at an arbitrarily fixed wage, regardless of economic conditions, and if that was sound the producer ought equally to be able to force the consumer to take his products at the price he fixed. Recently a well-known overseas cheese maker had pointed out to the New Zealand dairy producers that their cheese niust be improved, but that if they allowed awards to rule tlieir manufacturing methods, the sooner they stopped exporting cheese the better. “The difficulty in regard to standardised cheese in the North Island” added Mr Waite, '“is not so much taking the butterfat out of it, as not putting the time and the labour into it.” This-was one of, the reasons why he and many others desired a complete review of the arbitration system, and-, until that was done, the country would not get anywhere. He trusted that within the next week or two Parliament would be able to make improvements in the light of experience, so that they could get the maximum number of our population at work in profitable industries.