THE RETRENCHMENT POLICY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18456, 18 January 1922, Page 4

THE RETRENCHMENT POLICY.

It is apparent, from the statement which Mr Massey made last night respecting the retrenchment policy of the Government, that the proposals are much less drastic in character than, it was a ,day or. two ago suggested they might be. The Government aims at accomplishing a saving of about four millions per annum. A portion of this saving, of which there has been little tangible evidence, has already been effected, and the balance is to be achieved by reductions in the salaries and wages of members of the public service. The effect which • the adop« tion of the Government’s proposal will have will bo to extinguish, or almost to extinguish, the special addition that was made last year to salaries and wages of the majority of public servants to meet the increase in the cost of living, that addition being supplementary to one that for a like reason had been made in the preceding year. The cost of the food group of commodities—this, the Minister of Finance states, being that which was accepted as the basis of all the adjustments of salaries and* wages upon the score of the enhanced cost of living—has fallen recently and continues to fall, and in these circumstances no public servant should feel that there is anything invidious or unfair in his being expected to submit to the sacrifice of the special increment that was granted for a reason that either no longer exists or is passing out of exiss once. The salaries of the most highlyplaced officials will be subjected to a graduated redaction on a percentage basis, and the salaries of Ministers and members of Parliament are to bo reduced 10 per cent., which is the rate of reduction that is to be applied to the largest salaries- payable in the public service. It will be seen that the scheme of retrenchment is , less sweep**

ing than the public had been led to expect. Our only fear is that the reduction in expenditure that will be effected by the scheme will not he enough and that additional economies will be necessary next year.