COST OF LIVING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16450, 11 June 1921, Page 9

COST OF LIVING.

POSITION DOMINATED BY AGREEMENTS.

VIEWS OF MR M’COMBS, (Special to the et Star.*’) WELLINGTON, June 10. The conference of employers and labour representatives was not expected to have any prompt practical result, but it has served a useful purpose as indicating a desire to discuss a common problem. As the Press were excluded no extensive report is available. The chairman of the Board of Trade made it dear that tho public can hope for no reduction in the prices of bread, butter and sugar for some time, therefor© the Labour representatives came to the conclusion that no effective purpose was served by tho gathering.

Their views were expressed to your correspondent by Mr J . M’Combs, member for Lyttelton, who remarked that the public had been told that an alteration in the price of butter of one penny a pound would influence the index number by six points, and that an alteration of one penny in the price of a four pound loaf of bread would influence the index number by fifteen points. The cost of living bonus arrangement was that any increase in prices during one six months should be paid for by increased wages or bonus during tho currency of the following Bix months, but because of anticipated reductions in the prices of bread, butter and other articles the Arbitration Court deemed it advisable to offset the 5s now duo, and payable for six months,* .by a problematical drop in the price of bread and butter during this six months.

To make the arrangement an equitable one, continued the Labour member, there must be a drop in prices of 191 points during this six months. If butter could be reduced by a pound and the loaf of bread by one penny, that would give a drop of 51 points. The reason why it is necessary to have a drop of 191 points isl that if os were paid for this six months there would have to bo a drop in tho cost of living equivalent to 10s a week in wages, in order to cancel the 5s for the following six months and regain tlie os paid in the first six months. One month of the six is gone, and there has only been a drop of five points in tlio index number. As to the possibility of reducing the index number by ot ‘points, by reducing the price of bread and butter, the facts aro that the Government has a binding arrangement with tho wheat growers which fixes the present price of broad until next February or March. There is a further agreement regarding tho now season’s crop, and as part of that agreement winter sowings of wheat are already in the ground. That agreement hardly admits of variation

As regards butter, the most wo could do would be to ask tho Government if it could by arrangement with the Imperial authorities release Imperial supplies at a reasonable price, and compensate tho dairy farmers for varying the arrangement made in March. Even if the Government could reduce butter by 6d a pound it w-ould only reduce the index figures by 3b points, whereas 190 points are required to make tbo Court’s stabilisation scheme equitable for workers. Even then it woultl leave out considerations which should not

he overlooked in any reasonable equalisation scheme, considerations which go back to 1914. But behind all this, and greater than all other considerations, is this: That we, the workers’ representatives, cannot go to the Court with clean hands asking for tho fulfilment of an arrangement made regarding wages or bonuses if we go to the Gov- 1 eminent asking them to break their arrangements with the wheat growers and the dairy farmers. Although we may criticise and condemn the terms of the arrangement regarding butter, we definitely stand for the honourable ful- i fitment of all three agreements with I the wheat growers, the dairy farmers i and the wage workers.