'File 10/1 G BAPCO labour' [‎105r] (213/586)

demand on the part of employees for an increase in pay* He
said that the qaeation we were now discussing was not concern
ed with the grant of a living wage since it was admitted on
all sides that all classes of the Company^ employees were
in receipt of a living wage* What we were d iscassing, he
said, was the question whether, because living costs had in
creased, there should be a compensating rise in the pay of
employees, and he denied emphatically that the Company was
under any obligation to compensate its employees for the
reduction in their savings which was the result of the rise
in prices.
4« 1 said that the matter must be considered from a
psychological as well as from an economic view point. In
dian employees at Abadan and Kuwait had been given an increase
of pay, and Indian employees in Bahrain would want t^o know
why they were not being similarly treated. European and
American employees of the Bahrain Petroleum Company had been
given a bonus to compensate them for the increased cost of
living and other employees might well ask what justification
existed for this d iscrimination. Further, I gave an indica
tion of what was proposed in regard to Industrial conscription
(although I asked persona present at the Conference to keep
this matter confidential) and I pointed out how much better
it would be for all concerned if this measure were preceded
by a sympathetic gesture on the part of the Company•
5* Mr .Ward Anderson admitted the relevance of these
observations but said that he was still opposed to anything
in the nature of a "dearness allowance^ which employees
would expect to be increased if living coats rose still fur
ther. kr.Ohliger was equally opposed to raising the basic
wage of employees since it would be impracticable to bring
wages on to a lower level when prices again became normal.
Several members of the Conference thought that| if any allow
ance were given to meet the increased cost of living^it
/ should