SLIDING WAGE SCALE.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VII, Issue 2018, 3 August 1920, Page 11

SLIDING WAGE SCALE.

SOLUTION FOR LABOUR UNREST. FIXED PAY ROOT OF TROUBLE. A scale of wages sliding automatically, according to the rise in the cost of living, is the only solution to the labour problem. The fixed scale of wages is the root of most labour troubles, the nature of which is biological rather than economic, contends Dr Toulouse, eminent French sociologist. The cause of most strikes is the appalling difference between what a man earns and what it costs to live — the question of wages or salary becomes one of life itself. A man agrees, to-day, to work for a certain amount of money. He makes a bargain and is supposed to stick to it. But what will cover his expenses to-day may be insufficient to provide even nourishment, within a few mouths. Tho War has upset values to such an extent that tlie man whose income does not leave him a large margin is never sure of the morrow. Wage Increase Inadequate. The cost of living, for instance, has increased 400 per cent. 11l spite of the general cry that' wages have gone 'up, how many people are making four times as much as before tho War? Very few. The majority have had the earnings increased.7s per cent. —others, perhaps, have seen them doubled. But what is a 100 per cent, increase of salary compared to the 400 per ceut. rise in the cost of living? Whereas a locomotive does not move unless supplied with the requisite fuel, the human machine, unfortunately, is so constituted that insufficient or inferior food does not cause a sudden breakdown. For a considerable time an underfed man continues his usual work. But his vitality is slowly sapped, and gradually the standard of the race is lowered. Tuberculosis and other diseases spread to a dangerous degree. What Does Living Cost? When a working man, therefore, demands higher pay, it should not be c.bjected that he is asking for two or three times as much as he used to get, but the employer should ask how much it costs him to live to-day. Every man has the right, not only to live, but to live so that his vitality is not impaired. A certain minimum is necessary to enable him to buy the right kind of food for himself and family and to provide proper housing conditions. In the interest of society, evt ry man —and by that I mean every wageearner —should make enough to ensure a stronger, not a weaker, race. i Perpetual nagging is always a source of trouble. With the present regime of fixed salaries, the working man is obliged to demand continually higher and higher wages. This inevitably creates resentment. The fault is that of the system. What is sufficient today is not enough to-morrow. And, besides, in spite of our so-called advancement, the man who sells his work is not. situated as the man who sells merchandise. If a storekeeper doesn't make enough profit he doesn't ask permission to raise his prices.

Suggests Sliding Scale. But the man who sells his work must ask the consumer's —that is, the employers'—authority to increase his price, and whereas the shopkeeper offers no explanation of his actions, the working man is expected to show in detail why he cannot live on his old salary, and is frequently obliged to go on strike to impress his point of view. The grasping demands of Labour, which Governments and corporations speak of, are frequently due to the employers' failure to realise the gap between wages and their power to purchase the necessities of life. Instead of pitting themselves against strikes, our great railroad owners, financiers, bankers, economists should use their superior knowledge of affairs and finances to work out a scheme for determining a sliding scale of wages that would adjust itself automatically to the rise in the cost of living.