Armed Forces get pay rise

Press, 24 June 1986, Page 1

Armed Forces get pay rise

PA Wellington Staff shortages in the Armed Forces should be eased by Government approval of pay rises ranging from 20 to nearly 30 per cent, said .the Minister of Defence, Mr b’Flynn, yesterday. The average 22.7 per cent increase announced yesterday has been backdated to November 10 last year. However, it includes the 15.5 per cent rise personnel have already received under the annual general adjustment to wages and salaries in the State sector.

The remaining increase will cost the Government another $27.4 million this financial year. Mr O’Flynn said the increases would be a big factor in helping the Armed Forces retain trained personnel. Increases to various ranks vary between 20.1 per cent for a private and 29.6 per cent for a warrant officer.

For commissioned ranks the increase ranged from 20.7 per cent for second lieutenants and their equivalents to 29.5 for colonel rank levels, Mr O’Flynn said. Cabinet ..approved the increase after recommendations from the Ministry of Defence, the State Services Commission, and the Treasury. Commander Gerry Power, the director of Defence Public Relations, said the pay rise meant that a private, on joining the Army, would receive $14,283 a year. At the other end of the pay scale a colonel with four years

seniority would get $55,028. Ranks higher than colonel came under the jurisdiction of the Higher Salaries Commission.

A warrant officer, class one, the highest rank for a non-commissioned officer, will receive up to $35,563, compared with the $23,217 which a new second lieutenant will get.