PM Transcripts

31
ZbTKLA Press Statement No. 519
June 1975
JOINT PRESS STATEM4ENT ON WAGE FIXATION
The Premiers' Conference discussed future approaches
to wage fixation in Australia in the light of the existing high
levels of inflation. In a statement issued after the
Conference, the Prime Minister and Premiers said that,
following the historic National Wage Case decision of April
when the Australian-Conciliation and Arbitration Commission
conditionally accepted the principle of wage indexation,
there is a definite opportunity for the recent explosion in
wages and prices to be brought under control. The Governments
unanimously supported the guidelines handed down in the
decision for future wage claims. They said that it was
encouraging that the gu'delinet had received such widespread
acceptance and endorsemnent by other tribunals and by a wide
cross section of the Australian community, including the
executive of the ACTU and other influential spokesmen
from the union movement.
They appealed to all sections of the industrial
community to play their part by co-operating to achieve an
orderly and just system of wage fixing based on economic
realism and industrial sanity. They warned that unless this
co-operation is forthcoming Australia faced a situation in
which accelerating inflation would reach crippling heights,
imperilling our economic future and causing hardship to
ever increasing numbers and groups throughout the community.
In this situation the Prime Minister and the Premiers
were in common accord on the need to take action to uphold the
guidelines set down in the National Wage Case decision.
This would include:.
* Working toward a uniform approach in the hearings
on indexation before the Australian Conciliation
and Arbitration Commission in July/ August;
* Support by Governments for the guidelines in
appropriate industry cases;
Action to ensure compliance with the guidelines
in public employment within the control of Governments;
A meeting of bodies responsible for wage-fixing
in government employment;
Appropriate measures so that tribunals, however
constituted, act in accordancd. with the guidelines;
A meeting of Australian and State Ministers for Labor
will be convened as soon as possible to discuss action.
CANBERRA. A. C. T