Some records of what was happening around the day I was born

From: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/1751564

FORECAST:- COLD WINDS, SHOWERS.

LOWER WAGE, LONGER! HOURS SOUGHT Employers Lodge Application

. An application for a reduction in the basic wage in all States except West Australia, and for a return to the 44-hour week, was lodged in the Arbitration Court yesterday by a number of metal trades employers. Summonses served on the unions concerned in the application for variation will be returnable in the Arbitration Court on August 5. The applicants also seek a revision of the 40-hour week, an alteration in the method of adjusting the basic wage and a decrease in the female basic wage from 75 per cent, to 60 per cent, of the male wage. The applicant or ganisations are the Metal Trades Employ ers' Association, the Motor Traders' As sociation of New South Wales, the “Vic torian Chamber of Manufactures, the South Australian Chamber of Manu factures and other employers, in the en- ' gineering and metal trades industries. The basic wage sought for the various States is: New South Wales:— Syd ney, Newcastle, Port Kembla. and Wollon- gong, £8 16/i Broken Hill, £9 2/; elsewhere in N.S.W., 3/ less than In Sydney. Victoria. — Melbourne, Geelong, Warrnambool, Mildura and Gippsland, £8 7/; Yallourn and ' Morwell, 6/6 .extra; elsewhere in Victor1, a. 3/ less than Mfeibourhe.- Queensland. — Brisbane, £8 2/; elsewhere in Queensland, 3/ less. South Australia. — Ade laide, £8 6/;- Whyalla and Iron Knob, 5/ extra; elsewhere in South Australia, 3/ less. Tasmania. — Hobart and Queenstown, £88/; Launceston, £8 7/; elsewhere in Tasmania, . 3/ less/than Hobart. The current basic wage In the cities concerned is: Sydney, £11 3/; Bro ken Hill £11 11/. Mel bourne, £10 12/; Bris bane, £10 7/; Adelaide, £10 11/; Hobart, £10 < 14/; Launceston, £10 12/. Periodic Review The applicant organisa tions seek a review of in creases in the basic wage made by the court since 1937. They conterid that the automatic cost of living adjustment of the basic wage, at whatever level It may be determined by the Court following on this application, should be abandoned, and that in future the court should undertake a periodic re view of the basic wage, either by way of inquiry after a fixed term or within, its discretion on application by any inte rested party. Alternatively, they con tend that only that por tion of the basic wage commonly referred to since 1937 as the “needs” portion should now be, or should at any time have been, subject to cost of living adjust ment. The applicants . dis pute the economic and social justification, of the existing relationship of the female basic wage to the male :basic wage es tablished by. the Court in 1950, and seek as the pre scription of the female basic wage 60 per cent, of the male basic wage in substitution for the 75 per cent, now prescribed. Longer Week . The applicants seek a revision of the present standard, s working : week of 40 hours' established by the court in 1947 con tending that the 40-hour week -standard has de prived, and is depriving, the community of a proper supply of goods and services. The applicants contend as to both standard hours and basic waee that a general : reduction in the existing level of labor costs would be in the. in terests of ! all sections of the community. - They hold that , labor costs are higher than the economy of the country can sustain and the pre sent level of labor costs is adversely affecting public and private finance. The applicants also sav that the existing level of labor costs is prejudicing the position of Australian industries in relation to those of other countries. Further, that coupled with the automatic ad justment of the basic wage it is one of the prime causes of the pre sent inflationary ten dency and particularly responsible for the con tinuance of that ten dency. Also that' the existing level of labor costs is. pre judicial to the carrying out of defence and;, de velopment . programmes at a proper price and cost level. ; A.C.YU,\y«ll ” Discuss Move ADELAIDE, Tuesday.— The A.C.T.U. inter-State executive on Thursday will lay down the line of action to be adopted by the/ trade union move ment in replying to the employers' application to f.ho ArWfrotLnn Ormwf It is expected the A.C.T.U. will sponsor evi dence in support of the retention of the 40-hour week rather than press for any reduction in working hours.

From: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/205404623/19721127

Head story “U.S. LEADERS DARE COMMUNISTS TO ATTACK Warm Words at Truce Talks

; SEOUL Korea) , June 25. — -United States mili tary commanders today, in effect, dared the Commu- ' nists to launch another all-out Korean offensive as a reply to the smashing air attacks against the Yalu River hydro-electric plants…..”

From https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/205403934

Sun Has Been Shy This June

Unless . Melbourne has 24.2 hours of sunshine in the next five days a new record in lack of sunshine for June will be created. The record < low of sun- shine recorded in Mel bourne for June was 67.9 hours in 1931. In the first 25 days of the present month only 43.7 hours of sunshine — an average of less than two hours a day — were recorded by the Weather Bureau. An average of almost five hours a day from to day until Monday will be necessary if the' 1931 re cord is to stand.

From: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/205403958/19721149

WORKING THE FULL 40 HOURS IN, making a plea for a 40-hour week in reality, and not merely in name and form, the presi- v dent of the Australian Mines and Metals Associa tion (Mr. O. H. Woodward) opened afresh a basic problem of Australian industry, confronted with mounting difficulties of high-cost production and , the challenge of greatly changed economic-mone tary conditions. Mr. Woodward spoke of the widespread and damaging tendency to “whittle away the corners from the 40-hour week by late starts, early. fin ishes and urinecessary and unjustifiable, breaks during the working period.” In other words, the core of the problem is to ensure a full 40 hours of service and production during the standard : spread, and to apply in every spherp the principle of a fair day's work for a. fair day's pay. The late Mr. Chifley used to say that the slacker on any job was not injuring the “boss,'' but merely cheating his workmates and fellow- unionists, perhaps neighbors in the same street. There is, not now the sense of job security that was enjoyed by all wage earners, irrespective of qualifications, until a few months ago. , Some unemployment has appeared, vacancies are fewer and overtime has been eliminated on a wide scale. Highly paid spare-time jobs are scarcer. . Em-. . ployers are more selective. Among pointers to the change are slackness in the building industry, and the laying-off of workers in other directions , because of the high costs of finished products, in fluenced by high-wage .payments and the results of man-hour production under the 40 hours standard. Those: who- advocated the…40-hour' week and have since seen the growth of practices and. cus toms that, subtract heavily from working, time are convinced !that if the standard were actually observed the outlook for industry and employment would be greatly -irriproved. . It would not be too much to look for a revival of building, under such conditions, and an appreciable drop in building costs, giving new hope to thousands of people whose life ambition is to have a home of their own. AS the A.C.T.U. is in session, and these issues are coming into prominence, that body could give a timely and valuable lead. It would serve a good purpose if the A.C.T.U. were to issue a state- ment emphasising that the 40-hour week means 40 hours' service and production, without losses- of , time at the beginning or end of the day, or the costly breaks tolerated during years of labor scarcities and insatiable demands for goods in a sellers' market. ' Unless policy in this respect takes a realist view and- is adapted to changed conditions, the chief sufferers in the not-distant future are bound to be substantial numbers of wage earners, al though few if any would object to giving full . value for wage payments, or to making a full con- . tribution of work during the 40-hour spread. Union leaders anxious to preserve, hard-won , standards should address themselves to this crucial problem of reducing or eliminating- wasted time on jobs, and ensuring conditions that would permit men to be fully occupied, during the working day. As Mr. Woodward observed,. if the. 40-hour week be blamed for high costs and the slpwing-down of production, this indictment- is , made because the 40-hour week was not being given a fair trial by some .whose spokesmen worked hard to obtain it. . ' - Our situation is certainly vastly, .different -from that of 1947, and presents new; tests of a search ing kind. We'have seen the last” of the days when! slackening, absence from the .job; in paid time and'; ft“ “go-easy” attitude;|ould be condoned. '

From https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/205403921/19721148

How much for a RADIO at the time

From: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/19721161