WAGES IN TOWN AND COUNTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19858, 31 January 1928, Page 12

WAGES IN TOWN AND COUNTRY.

Sir, —The drought which is affecting the greater part oi New Zealand is going to bring increasing hardship to a great many of the producers of this country whose ordinary level of remuneration is very much below Arbitration Court awards. This, then, should be a favourable time to review our whole system of wages and salaries, with a view of securing some sort of equalisation in the rewards of labour as between thp primary producers and the more favoured sections of the community. These latter include all those who come under the beneficent clauses of the Arbitration Act, railway employees, school teachers, Civil servants, and, in fact, all those in State employ. The secretarial and engineering staffs of all public boaiies are enjoying swoollein salaries, out of all proportion to the work performed, and which would be gladly un dertaken at 50 per cent, less pay by equally competent men who now are unable to find employment. It is now many years since the Public Servioe was overhauled as to cost and efficiency. Let all useless officers Le' dispensed with and a cut of from 10 par cent, to 20 per cent, be made on all > 'aries above £3GO a year and the money ' "ved expended in providing work, aw the unemployed problem would then disappear in New Zealand. The primary producer, upon whom all other sections of the community live, is having a paiticuhrly hard time, as there is no living waf e for farmers. They have to fight low prices and murderous competition, and thuir average living pud monetary reward is at least 50 per cent, lower than the worstnaid school teacher or other public servant. J. 6.8.