CIVIL SERVANTS AT THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3034, 22 March 1917, Page 6

CIVIL SERVANTS AT THE WAR

DEMAND FOR SPECIAL TREATMENT

DEPUTATION TO MINISTER AN UNFAIR PRINCIPLE A deputation from tho Grand Council of tho State Servants of New Zealand nfcit-v 5 . on the Acting-Prime Minister '.c n'.ako a request that Civil ServtW-U mi military' service should receive sno'vi additions to their military pay as will bring their total pay lip to tho amount received by them in civilian employment.- This grand council of State servants represents all branches of the Public Service—the three railway societies, the Post and Telograph Association, the Public Seryico Association, and the Teachers' Institute. „ , Mr. G. Allport, president of the council, was tho first speaker. He said that- the in a tier had already been brought boforo tho Government by tho Public Service Association, but so ( far i nothing had been done. 1 lie position |had altered in an important respect, | however, since the matter was first I brought under tho notice of the Gov- | eminent. Now conscription was in operation, and men were bound to go to the war, whereas formerly only those were sent who volunteered for service. It could be presumed that those who volunteered to serve felt that tney were able to make provision for their families, but now a man bad to go whether he could provide for his family or not. It was true that certain separation allowances were made to men with families, but these allowances did not ensure to soldiers' families that degree of comfort which, ho claimed, they had_ a right to expect. In Great Britain, Civil Servants were allowed civil pay on active service, less the amount, of military pay and allowances. In Australia the 'Premiers of 'the various States met early in the war to consider this question, and they decided that they could not see their way to grant tho concession, hut very shortly afterwards three of the States had reversed their decisions. Now the three StafpsNew South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria gave their employees civil pay whilst on military duty.

, How the State Cains. • If liko concessions were granted to New Zealand Civil Servants it would be found tliat the State would not lose all of the money so paid, because now the State was saving a considerable amount by the enlistment of largo numbers of Public Seryants whoso places were either not filled at all or were filled by the appointment of cadets receiving lower rates of pay. This saving was effected by the extra work done by the officers who were remaining at their posts here. Ho was sure the majority of the officers were willins to do their utmost to enable.the services to be carried on, and to assist the Government in every possible way. The Government had recognised that it was N right that the employees of public bodies should receive extra pay while on active service, for they had initiated and carried through legislation empowering public bodies to give their employees half pay while serving in the army. Also many firms, banks, and other commercial concerns had, without legislation, given their mon half pnv or some equivalent concession. He thought the Government" was not being asked to do too much when it was asked only to do what it encouraged others to do jiul what others were doing. It had been rather difficult to pet ■ statistics as to whnt the cost to the Government would bo of granting the request now made 011 behalf of public servants, but lie. had particulars of tlie cost ir. New South Wales, and he would think that these figures could bo taken as a fair criterion of what the .proposal would mean in New Zealand. In New South Wales there wore last year 7398 State employees on active service, and the total cost to tho State of making up 1 their military pav to the rate of their civil pay was £105,277. Ho thought that in New Zealand tho cost would probably bo, less than this amount.

No Uniformity of Practice. It was a fact, too., that in Now Zealand there was not uniformity of practice. Married tcachers who were •officers received salarv and a quarter, and somo Post and Telegraph men received half pay in addition to their military pay, while other postal officers doing the samo-kind of postal work at the front received military pay only. All would agree that tho cost of living had cone up very much, and while those in outside employment.had haA. iheir wages raised . considerably, and had had opportunities of increasing their income, Public Servants had 110 such increases. Other Speakers. Mr. J. Young,- of the Railway Officers' Institute, said that tho 25,000 State employees represented on 6 council were unanimous in making this request. They urged in effect that a man who offered his life in liis counservice should not be allowed to suffer financially for his patriotism. Mr. H. .15. Coombs spoke for tho Post and Telegraph Association. He referred to tho anomaly of which Mr. 'Allport had spoken, saying that of the 1300 officers on active service some 250 were receiving half-pay in addition to their military pay. He said that it was estimated that tho Post and Telegraph Department liatl saved between £80,000 and £90,000 owing to tho absence of so many of its officers at the front, and to their 'having been replaced by men receivingi less pay. And to bring tho military pay of theso men up to their civil pay would mean an expenditure of about £50,000, so that the cost to the State would be practically nothing. Mr. H. A. Parkinson endorsed the request on behalf of tho Teachers' Institute. Ho insisted that it was the duty of the State to see that mon who went to fight for the existence of tiie State did not suffer financial hardship. He would not accept the answer tint the State could not afford it. Tho State could afford and must afford it, because if these men did not go to fight there would ho no State. Messrs. P. Hampton, of tho ' A.S.R.S.. nnd W. Wiles, of the Enginedrivers, Firomon, and Gleaners' Association, were tho other speakers. They urged that the Government should seo that men should not suffer by going to fight, saying that the country was abundantly able,to find the money th.it would bo necessary. Mr. Wiles especially urged that the (Jovernment should, boforo the Second Division was called lip, make provision for an adequate schomo of allowance to married men with families. A Very Big Question. Sir James Alien, replying, said that tho proposals raised a very big question, and one which obviously lie could not decide as Minister of Defence or as Acting-Prime Minister. Tho matter would havo to go before Cabinet for consideration. Indeed, the question had already been before Cabinet, but ho would have pleasure in again submitting to his colleagues the points the deputation had raised, and the whole matter could be considered again. "One of the difficulties of the problem is this'," ho said. "It is jmpossible to deal with tho Civil Servants.

of the country and admit the principle that, a Civil Servant is entitled to receive salary equivalent to his civilian pay if he goes to the front as a soldier without _ entering into the very much, wider question of hoiv the rest of tho community are *o bo treated who are not Civil Servants. I think you will admit that it would l not ho fair for the country to provide for tho Civil Servant by adding to his military pay or by making up his military pay to his civil pay without facing the question of how to deal with those employed by private employers throughout tho country. You would not ask me to place Civil Servants on a different footing from other employees. That would not he fair. There is no general practice among private employers throughout the country. You would not ask mo to place Civil Servants on a" different footing from other employees. That would not bo fair. There is no general practice among private employers. Some are giving their men half-pay, some are giving the difference between military pay audi civil pay, and some aro doing nothing. It is perfectly ; true that I did mnlcp an appeal to employers to assist recruiting by helping their men to go. There was some response to tho appeal, I am glad to say, but they are not all doing it. That is one of the difficulties. I don't say it is an insuperable difficulty, but how far Cabinet will consider that I am not prepared to say." The Proper Spirit. He noted with satisfaction that it was accepted as proper that the Civil Servant who remained l behind must be prepared to make sacrifices by working longer hours, and working harder. He realised that some were doing it already. In this time the man who stayed behind ought to be prepared to give up a little of his time as part of his contribution to tho war effort. He admitted that the cost of living was high. The Government had tried! to meet it as far as any Government could meet it by restricting tho prices of certain commodities, but the difficulties of such a plan were almost insuperable. Tho Government had also increased the pay of_ the lower paid men of the civil service. Mr. Hampton: It's all gone. Sir James Allen: You mean that the increased cost of living has absorbed it all. That is what it was given for. Sir James Allen Baid that ho did not know what savings the State had made by the enlistment of a number of its higher paid-officers arid the replacement of them by juniors. He would be glad to make inquiries into that matter, and to find how much money had been saved to the- State in this way. . About the Postal Officers. ■ Sir James Allen spoke also of the anomaly that had been pointed out to him in'connection with tie Post Office men on service. Certain postal men had received special treatment because they were supposed to have been specially soleoted for this service. The position was an unsatisfactory one from tho point of view of the Minister of Defence as well from the point of view of the other postal men on service.