PM Transcripts

JbAUSTRALIA
PRIME MINISTER1
FOR MEDIA-SUNDAY, 16 JANUARY 1983
WAGE PAUSE
The Commonwealth Government has welcomed the decisions of the
Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and some State Tribunals
that there should be a wage pause for at least six months. T~ hese
decisions, following the unprecedented level of agreemeInt between
all governmenLs at the December Premiers' Conference that there
should be a pause, reflect a con~ Eonsus which is developing iii
the Austral ian community.
All. Australia's economic indicators, including tho OECD) forecast
released some cdays ago, show that a 12 month wage pause
remains desirable.
I have been concerned about the attitude which some--unions have
taken about the pause. Before I returned to work, Mr Anthony,
as Acting Prime Minister, wrote to the President of the ACTU
seeking his support in helping to give the wage pause a chance
to work. I wrote to 1' 1r Dolan last week to reinforce what
Mr Anthony said.
I believe the Australian community expects the union movement
to do its bit so that we will not see more jobs lost because
of further wage increases following the high increases in
wages and labour costs of the last two years.
Every government has taken or is taking action to implement a
pause in both the public and the private sectors, as all
governments agreed at, the Premiers' Conference.
In its judgement in December, the Australian Conciliation and
Arbitration Commission said: " Any departure from them ( the
guidelines laid down by the Commission for the wage pause) could
impair the viability of the pause and threaten the employment
of many thousands of persons"
The wage pause must be successful if more Australians are not
to lose their jobs.
We may not be able to do much to improve thc inte: rnational
economic outlook or offset the effects of the drought. But we
can control our own wages. We can improve the competitiveness
of Australian industry, and hence its ability to employ. We
can save jobs.
We must all get behind the pause and give it a chance to work.
Those of us who have jobs owe that to our many fellow Australians
who want or who are concerned that they may lose the jobs they
hmio now.