WAGES APPLICATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24783, 6 December 1941, Page 8

WAGES APPLICATION

EMPLOYERS' SUBMISSION NEED FOR BALANCED ECONOMY (PA.) WELLINGTON,. Dec;s. In the wage, increase /application before the Arbitration Goutf. MrW.J, Mountjby to-day replied to Mr A. McLagan. He submitted that nowhere had Mr McLagan proved that an increase could be granted without adverse effects on the economic life .of the community, or had he proved that the increase was absolutely necessary if the wage earners were to be enabled to maintain their present standard ofconsumption. Further, it had not been proved that the present standard of living could be maintained even with, an ; increase of wages. Wages constituted the most important element in internal prices, and clearly the most important contribution towards internal stabilisation must be the stabilisation of wages. It had been clearly shown that tne war could be paid for and the war effort sustained only by real sacrifices. In view of the magnitude of the sacrifice required, the conclusion was inescapable that up to the present the sacrifice made by the wage earners of New Zealand was very moderate; indeed probably much lower than other sections of the community, whose incomes had not been increased and manv of whom had to bear very heavy taxation. Under the present conditions any rise in wages would represent an attempt to reduce the workers* sacrifice at the expense of the rest of the community: It would be a direct blow at the stabilisation policy of the Government and could result only in an upward trend of prices and in increasing the difficulties of the Government's finances and the danger of inflation.