The Hawaiian gazette., 1916-05-05
At Present Price Of Sugar, Nine
ty-four Per Cent More Than
Regular Pay May Be Earned
and Retroactive Wage Is Big
AMOUNT DUE ON LAST
MONTH ABOUT $480,OOO
Bonus Is Boosted Fifty Per cent,
one-fifth To Be Given Regular
Paydays and Balance Semi
Annually Instead Of Annually

THE Hawaiian Sugar Planters
4 Association, by its President,
\. w. T. Bottomley, announces
through The Advertiser this morn
ing the new wage scale for plan
tation laborers, to apply to all
wage earners now on the payrollS
at twenty-four dollars a month,
regular payment without the bon
us, or under.
The new scale is a most liberal
one, under existing sugar prices,
being based on the bonus system.
AS sugar prices stand today, the
increase possible to be earned is
ninety-four per cent over the reg
ular wage.
One most liberal feature of the
increase is that it is antedated to
April |, which means that the la
borers will receive this present
payday an aggregate amount Of
approximately $4,000 more than
they suppose they have earned
while for the month of April the
amount to be paid out in the regu-
lar bonus will be $480.0OO.
Three Outstanding Features
a There are three outstanding fea-
lures of the new scale, which is
wholly bonus increase. The bon.
us is increased by fifty per cent
One-6fth of the bonus for each
month will be disbursed with the
regular monthly pay. The balance
of eighty per cent of the bonus
will be paid semi-annually instead
of, as heretofore, annually.
All laborers, including all short
term contractors, share in the
bonus.
The minimum wage Of eighteen
dollars a month now paid to the
Filipinos who have only recently
arrived, representing the Lowest
paid class, will be increased t.
twenty dollars a month, which
means further substantial add.
ion to the amounts to be earned a.
a bonus.
How 1t Works Out
Reduced to dollars and cent.
the increase will work out as fol
lows: for a laborer whose earning.
for a month of twenty day:
amounts to twenty dollars. On the
price of sugar as it stood yester
day, his bonus would be ninety
per cent of his wages, or eighteen
dollars. OF this bonus amount ht
would receive twenty per CEN
with his regular wages. or three
dollars and sixty cents, leaving
fourteen dollars and forty cents tc
be paid to him in the semi-annua
bonus for the month of April. Pro,
vided he worked the minimum
twenty days month required fol
the bonus, his six months earnings
would be SAL 90 received If
wages and monthly bonuses anc
eighty-SiX dollars and forty cents
in the semi-annual bonus, a tota
for six months of $228, or an aver,
age monthly wage of thlrty-eight
dollars.
In his official announcement OF
the new wage scale, Mr.. BottomIeJ
says:
an view of the high prices
which the plantations are receiv,
ing for sugar, it has been decided
by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters
Association, after extended delibeTa
tion and careful consider ration of tn,
various classes Of laborers and divers
ity of work, TO recommend to the plan
tatiOns that an increase be made in tn,
mpensatiOn of their laborers; ant
that the increase can best be effected
through enlarging and extending tn
scope Of the existing sliding scale bon
MS which is based upon the price Of raw
sugar, rather than by direct increas
in the rate Of wages.