11.1 Pre-1937 issues

After the four, virtually annual, basic wage cases of the Depression years, there was no further application for a general review until 1937. The interval may have reflected union priorities for raising margins and for resuming the movement toward a general 44-hour week, as well as a judgment about the likely attitude of the Court toward the degree of economic recovery.

There were, however, cases dealing with subsidiary issues.

11.1.1 Geographical differences

There had emerged over the years of basic-wage prescription a diverse set of basic-wage rates as between localities. In most awards, the rates applying in the capital cities corresponded to the price relativities indicated by the Statistician's index numbers. The substitution of the C series for the A series index altered these relativities, the principal change being a rise in the relative wage in Adelaide. There were, however, awards wherein uniform basic wages applied across States. Textiles were an example. The reason for uniformity in these awards was interstate competition in the product markets. For non-metropolitan areas, the Court had applied various deviations from the strict index-related rates, usually in recognition of economic difficulties of non-urban producers. In 1934, it adopted a rule that basic wage rates in country areas would be equal to the amounts indicated by the price index minus 3s. This was in recognition of disadvantages—associated especially with transport costs—of country employers competing with metropolitan firms.