SOME HIGH WAGES

Waikato Independent, Volume XXXVII, Issue 3271, 25 February 1937, Page 8

SOME HIGH WAGES

EXAMPLES GIVEN IN COURT DYER’S £l6 PER 'WEEK Two examples of very highly paid jobs were given in the Arbitration Court, Wellington, recently. In the first case, Mr F. D. Cornwell, who was conducting the Wellington laundry workers’ dispute, said that dyeing used to be an exceptionally highly paid work, the regular wages some years ago being £l6 a week. A man who was receiving that amount in Auckland was now working in Wellington at the same type of work at £6 weekly. “That shows you the drop in wages,” said Mr Cornwell. “And, what is more, it is a highly specialised work. There are very few expert dyers in New Zealand.”

The second was that of an able seaman. A new award was made for seamen, under which able seamen are to be paid £lB a month, but it was pointed out that an able seaman on the Awatea, with his additional payment for being at sea on Sundays, will receive an increase of £5 4/- during a month with four Sundays, and £5 12/- during the four months of the year in which there

are five Sundays, making his total wages £23 4/- and £23 12/- respectively. That is an average of over £5 10/a week, but it is really worth more than that because they are fed and kept on board the ship by the company, with the result that they have no living expenses.