HIGH WAGES GOOD

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 722, 23 July 1929, Page 8

HIGH WAGES GOOD

MAINTAINING STANDARD OF LIVING • BENEFIT TO COMMUNITY especial to THE SI X) WELLINGTON, Today. “Labour, in the aggregate, repr*. sents a much smaller proportion of the total costs of farming expended upon the farm than most peopi* imagine." This statement was made by jj. \V. J. Poison, president of the Zealand Farmers' Union, at the an. nual conference which opened t; Wellington today. "The average farmer is firmly con. vlnced that the chief cause of bis troubles is the high cost of labour and that the Arbitration Court ii largely, if not entirely, responsible'’ he said. "Until the Industrial Con. tereuce last year threw fresh light on the question, the farmer wasquiu certain all that was necessary t a pave the way for the millenium was to abolish the Arbitration Court in New Zealand and get back to tho good ild freedom of bygone days” A 10 per cent, fall in farm wages, however, would not mean anything like a 5 per cent, fall in farm costs. A 10 per cent, fall in wages would have a tragic effect upon the standard of living, which the workers had built up for themselves after a cen, tury of struggle—a standard which no man wanted to see cut down in this age of progress. “A fall of 10 per cent, in the purchasing power of the workers would immediately react on the rest of the community," said Mr. Poison. ' Trade would fall off, imports would be af. fected. taxation would be affected and there would be a general dislocation far greater than the amount of relief the farmers would obtain. In any case, attempts to reduce wages drastlcallv would result in serious ronse. quences to the whole community." The Arbitration Court could not bn held responsible for high wages—the responsibility of the court was for the network of restrictive conditions imposed upon industry which added enormously to its costs. An understanding with labour, which would abolish these trammelling and often impractical conditions, even if it meant an increase in wages, would, in many cases, be an advantage to the community. “But is must not bo forgotten that labour, being thoroughly organised, can ignore the court,” said Mr. Poison. "The Miners’ Union, for example, refuses to recognise the Arbitration Court or to have anything to do with it, and imposes conditions and wages upon the industry which are said to be harsher than anything imposed by the court.”