Effect On Recruiting

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30895, 30 October 1965, Page 3

Effect On Recruiting

(Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, October 29. The Minister of Defence (Mr Eyre) does not believe the new pay scales announced today will entirely solve the recruiting problems of the services “in these days of full employment.” But, he said, they will certainly encourage potential recruits to join up. In addition to attempting, through the new rates, to encourage recruiting, the Ministry of Defence had tried to design the over-all pay code to keep men in the services.

He did not know how much of the servicemen’s increases would be paid out in higher rents for Government-owned houses. “The rents are on an individual basis assessed on the Government valuation of the house.” A total of £700.000 had been provided in the Supplementary Estimates approved by Parliament to meet the cost of the increases this year. The Secretary of Defence (Mr J. K. Hunn) said he thought the new pay rates for commissioned officers were “competitive with industry." Officers conducting the review had tried to find a comparable job in the industrial sector and make a “service loading” on top of the wage paid. Referring to the fact that

the review had taken more than a year to complete, Mr Hunn said the final proposals contained more than 200 pages and the review involved more than 50,000 separate calculations.

It had been particularly difficult because of the need to bring uniformity to the pay and conditions of the three services. “If we had to do it again tomorrow, we would whistle through it. It wouldn't take 5 per cent of the time.” He said the Ministry’s recommendations to 'the Government had embraced increases totalling £1,250,000 in a full year. The Government had approved increases totalling £1,200,000. This meant there had been some variation in small items only.