REDUCING NAVY

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25300, 6 September 1945, Page 6

REDUCING NAVY

PERSONNEL LEAVING SCHEME WORKING WELL Although it will continue for some months yet, the Royal Now Zealand Navy's demobilisation scheme is now in , full swing. Because of certain differ- ■ onccs iu tho conditions of service, the process of turning the individual sailor into a civilian again takes longer than the corresponding procedure in the Army, but a visit which was made yesterday to H.M.N.Z.S. Philomel showed that the task is being done faithfully and well. Under the Navy's demobilisation scheme, which is based on a points system, there are two broad classifications of men. Those aged 41 and over and married men with four or more children receive absolute priority over everybody else unless they are temporarily needed for an essential duty. All other men receive priority in relation to the number of points to which their service, marital status and so on entitle them. Included in tho scheme are officers and time-expired active service ratings who were required to continue 1 to serve for the duration of the war. i Not covered at present are members of j the Women's Royal New Zealand Naval Service, but thov can seek discharge by application. Rate of 30 Men a Day H.M.N.Z.S. Philomel has already discharged most of the available absolute priority men. It is also discharging the relative priority men at tho rate of about .'JO a day. For last month about 189 officers and men of both groups were demobilised. By the time demobilisation has been completed it is expected that about 5000 officers and ratings will have been discharged from Philomel. The process is necessarily complicated by tho fact that many hundreds of men are still overseas in a variety of ships and bases. Two days are taken to discharge each man. He first attends a demobilisation office to begin the routine. Here he receives a discharge form showing his name, rating, number, whether he takes his rum issue, how long he is to be borne for pay, how much leave, deferred leave, proportionate part of annual leave, discharge leave and travelling time ho is entitled to, whether lie qualifies for a mufti allowance, and the reason and authority for discharge. The Demobilisation Round With this form the rating then sets off on a round of the various offices which are interested in his departure from the Navy. His first call is at the sick quarters, where he receives a thorough examination. This is not only necessary for pension purposes but is. in tho rating's own interests, as it gives him the opportunity to receive free any medical attention he needs. The same principle applies when he proceeds from the sick quarters to the dental office. If he is not dentally fit he can postpone his demobilisation until he is made so. , From the dental office the rating continues to the clothing store to hand back hammock, bedding, uniform and so on, and to the gunner's store to return any other equipment. He goes thence to his divisional office, on to the rehabilitation office for any advice he needs, to the pay office and to various other offices, finishing again at the demobilisation office. Here he hands in his identity card, receives travelling warrant and ration coupons, and goes out with only a launch to ioin before he has said good-bye to the Navy. Ho is in uniform, the only uniform still in his possession, but this he has to return after he is back into civilian clothes. Employment Problem Many of the men now being demobilised have jobs to go to, but others are uncertain what they are going to do. This is so more especially of the timeexpired sailor, the man who joined as a boy and made the service his career either for 12 years or for 17 or even for 22. To help such men as these, letters have been written to shipping, stevedoring and other types of firms to see if there are vacancies for the typo of "handy men" sailors make. This, then, is a bare outline of the Navy's demobilisation. It does not represent the first reduction of the establishment of the R'.N.Z.N., but it does represent its greatest. It is not yet known how many officers a.nd ratings will be required for the peacetime Navy, but- by the time the demobilisation has been completed the ILN.Z.N, will obviously be a shadow of its wartime self.

BUTCHERS' SHOPS QUESTION OF CLOSING (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Wednesday When asked if it was tho intention of the New Zealand Master Butchers' Association that all retail butchers' shops throughout the Dominion should close from next Monday if increased retail prices for meat were not granted, the secretary of the Wellington Employers' Association, Mr W. J. Mountjoy, said he emphatically denied that any instruction or request had been given that butchers should close their shops indefinitely from Monday next. All that had been suggested by the New Zealand Master Butchers' Association, said Mr Mountjoy, was that butchers should close their shops on Monday, September 10, for the purpose of holding a daytime meeting only to consider the shortage of stock, the high prices ruling for stock, wholesale and retail meat prices, and whether or not frozen meat should be made available for retail sale to the general public. DECISION IN HAMILTON CLOSING ON MONDAY (0.C.) HAMILTON, Wednesday The butchers in the South Auckland area have decided to closo their shops on Monday to enable the retailers to attend a meeting to bo held in the afternoon t9 consider matters relating to tho retail prices of meat. DISPUTE SETTLED WEST COAST MINERS (0.C.) GREYMOUTB, Wednesday Because of a dispute over the disparity in victory holiday payments, the Liverpool State mine was idle again today, as was tho Strongman State mine, tho workers at which worked on Tuesday, but came out on strike this morning following a meeting of tho union last evening. Tho dispute was settled tonight and production will resume tomorrow. NO SATURDAY WORK MINERS AT KAI TANG ATA (P.A.) DUNE DIN, Wednesday A meeting of coal miners at Kaitangata today decided that all Saturday work at tho mines should ceaso as from Saturday next. CHRISTIAN ORDER (P.A.) CHRISTCHURCH, Wednesday Divergent opinions as to w.hat the final message of tho conference should be to constituent denominations were expressed at the concluding session of tho Dominion Conference on Christian Order in Christcliurch. The adoption of a prepared statement as tho message of the conference was moved by the Primate of New Zealand, Archbishop West-Watson. lie read a statement which emphasised tho basic unity of the delegates. It was decided, on an amendment moved by the Rev. L. A. North, to refer tho message back to the members of .the National Council of Churches who had attended the conference and to ask them to redraft it.