Resignations result of low salaries—D.S.I.R.

Press, 10 July 1985, Page 32

Resignations result of low salaries—D.S.I.R.

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington The D.S.I.R. is concerned increasingly about the loss of qualified and experienced staff, because of low salaries paid in New Zealand. In its annual report to Parliament it said that it had had a high rate of resignations during 1984 among its electronics, engineering and biotechnology staff. This loss was almost entirely as a result of New Zealand salaries not being competitive with those overseas. Also those who resigned usually usually joined private companies, and often in positions where their techni-

cal expertise was little used, the D.S.I.R. said. Although a moderate movement of trained D.S.I.R. staff to counterpart positions in industry was desirable, the present situation was not making the best use for the country of trained specialist staff. Not only was the D.S.I.R. losing technical staff to nontechnical work in industry but it was also losing staff to overseas, the report said. High technology specialists were a much soughtafter commodity internationally, yet the salaries paid to meet senior Public Service and university scientists barely equated — in international dollars — with starting salaries for gradates overseas.

The D.S.I.R. was also concerned about the diminishing proportion of long-term research work, as a result of increasing pressures from many Government and industry and groups for advisory and laboratory services.

Fortunately an agreement had been reached with the Government which allowed additional staff to be appointed to service the increasing needs of paying clients, rather than continuing to divert long-term research staff towards service work.

Returns from science were usually not immediate, the report said. Benefits might often lag behind the research by 10 to