FACTORY WAGES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22404, 28 April 1936, Page 13

FACTORY WAGES

MINISTEB'S FIGUEES ACCURACY CHALLENGED POSITION OF EMPLOYERS COST OF 40-HOUR WEEK Challenging the accuracy of figures relating to wages in factories given by the Minister of Labour, the Hon. H. T. Armstrong, in the House of Representatives, Mr. J. S. Dawes, president of the Auckland Employers' Association, in a statement last evening said that the 40-hour week proposition meant an increase in wages from 10 to 20 per cent, and this appeared from present indications to be the first only of a number of extra charges to be imposed on industry. Mr. Dawes said the seriousness of the issues involved warranted the strongest protest against rushing through legislation which might have the most disastrous effects. The Minister of Labour was reported to have made the extraordinary statement that wages were only 18 per cent of the value of the goods produced in factories, and that the increase in wages could not possibly increase the cost of production by more than 1.8 per cent. Cost of Material Ignored That statement must have been made on the assumption that the total, value of the output was due to the work performed in the factories, thus ignoring altogether the cost of the material operated on. To anyone quite unacquainted with business it might ber possible to confuse factory output with factory earnings, and to assume that - material used was also "produced" in the factories. But such a mistake could never be made by the Government Statistician, from whose figures the Minister alleged he was quoting. "Though the Year Book of 1935 only gives in detail the factory statistics up to 1932-33, these are very instructive and should be noted, more%articularly as that year the 10 per cent cut had been made and wages were at their lowest," said Mr. Dawes. "The Govern--ment Statistician records the factory output for that year as £68,138,064, out of which material used accounted for £42,600,490, leaving £25,537,574 aa the total factory earnings (shown in a separate column headed 'added value.') This was the amount by which the New Zealand factories increased the value of the material they purchased, or, in other words, the total factory earnings. Wages and Cost ol Living "The wages paid were £12,048,148, or 47.57 per cent of these total factory earnings. Therefore, at the time tha employers were being accused of having taken advantage of the workers by reducing wages they were really paying just on half the total earnings of the factories to the wage earners. Th«* other half had to cover all capital charges, rent, interest, rates, taxes, repairs and maintenance, accident and fire insurance, bad debts, sales costs, and other unavoidable charges incidental to all businesses. It is not surprising, therefore, that many businesses had to write off capital, slip dividends, and drastically curtail their expenditure, while many had to go into liquidation.. "The Year Book also shows that these reduced wages were from 35 to 39.5 per cent above the 1914 level, whilt* cost of living at that time was 26.8 per cent above that level. Therefore, at the worst of the 'slump' the worker# were receiving in 'real' wages some 10 per cent more than in 1914." Mr. Dawes added that as the Minister of Labour, quoted statistics, statistics should decide what is and had been the actual position. As for the increase in the cost of production which must follow the changes now being made and in , contemplation by the Government, this could not be accurately assessed at present, but that it would be very substantial wps beyond question. LEGISLATION DISCUSSED RESOLUTIONS BY EMPLOYERS The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Bill as reported back to the House of Representatives by the Labour Bills Committee of the House and also the Factories Act Amendment Bill were discussed fully yesterday afternoon by a large meeting of the Auckland Employers' Association. A series of resolutions was adopted and will be submitted for consideration, together with recommendations from other employers' associations, by the New Zealand Employers' Federation in „ Wellington.