Wage Stabilisation Principles Stated

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 667, 20 May 1929, Page 14

Wage Stabilisation Principles Stated

POLICY OF COURT JUDGE FRAZER’S REVIEW Press Association WELLINGTON, Today. In a memorandum attached to the Auckland stonemasons’ award Mr. Justice Frazer has embodied some remarks on the stabilisation of wages. He reiterates what the court has said before, that the cost of living is not the only factor to be considered. The general state of trade and the position of the particular trade concerned have to be taken into account. The court lias brought the rate for unskilled labour up to Is lOd an hour or GO per cent, above the 1914 rate. In the case of skilled and semi-skilled labour the court has never given GO per cent, more, but has added to their rates the same increase as to unskilled, which means a lower percentage on the whole. This was because the unskilled worker was the worst off, and the others were usually paid more than the award rates. The function of the court is to fix minimum rates. The 60 per cent, increase was given in 1925, and the cost of living is, if anything, slightly lower now. To fix the minimum rates on the basis of the higher wages now being paid to most workers would probably have a detrimental effect on the trade. The question of wages should be viewed broadly, and it is worth noting that the court lias since 1914 substantially increased the rates for many classes which were formerly below the standard minimum. On the matter of wages generally, says Mr. Justice Frazer, it appears to me that owing to variations in the cost of living and conditions of employment in different Australian States, and the different principles applied by wage-earning tribunals in that country, the Australian award rates cannot safely be taken as a guide in framing New Zealand awards.