Economic Factors and Wage Fixation Principles: Developments in New South Wales in 1974

The inflationary movement of 1974 presented a challenge for the time- honoured principles of wage-fixatian developed by the New South Wales system of industrial relations.

An examination of the key wages decisions of the State Industrial Commission shows how recognition of the concept of "community-wide movement in wages" enabled the tribunal to flexibly deal with the new economic reality. However, it also demonstrates the difficulty exposed in the previous approach of segregating "economic" and "work value" factors in the wage assessment process—a difficulty ultimately recognized by the Commission.