THREE GRADES OF PRIVATES

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24987, 23 September 1946, Page 4

THREE GRADES OF PRIVATES

PROPOSED NEW ARMY RANKS REVISED PAY SCALE (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, September 22. Provision for three grades of privates in the New Zealand Army for the purpose of aligning pay in all three services is understood to be under consideration by the Government as part of its revision of service pay schedules. The new pay schedules are likely to be issued fairly soon and it is suggested that the basic minimum rate should be’about 15s a day in all three services. If the pi-oposed scheme is adopted the Army will follow the system recently instituted in the British Army by which ranks of one-star, two-star, and three-star privates were created under a White Paper issued earlier this year. There will also be one-star and two-star lance-corporals, and onestar and two-star corporals. Service pay will be taxable but the pay of members of the Regular Forces has always been subject to taxation. Lower ranks are expected to benefit most from the increased rates, with a diminishing ratio of financial improvements as the ranks ascend. That is the view taken by senior officers, who claim that taxation will be the great leveller in their case, and that substantially they may be little better oil. The classifications in the Air Force, it is understood, will remain the same as. at present, except that provision will be made for up-grading as certain trades become more, skilled with progressive aviation development. The new scales are not strictly uniform but will be comparable for the three services according to time taken to attain the respective ranks and to become proficient tradesmen.