NEW ZEALAND ARTILLERY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23333, 27 October 1937, Page 7

NEW ZEALAND ARTILLERY

RESIGNATION OF GUNNERS INADEQUATE SALARIES ALLEGED REQUESTS FOR RESTORATION IGNORED <Per United Press Association) AUCKLAND, Oct. 26. As a result of what they consider the failure of the Defence Department to reply adequately to the insistent requests for the restoration of wages to the 1931 level, the majority of the 34 gunners stationed at the Narrow Neck Barracks of the Royal New Zealand Artillery have resigned from the service. The complete personnel sought its discharge on September 21, but the men were given until noon to-day to reconsider their decision, and several are reported to have withdrawn from their former stand. Alleged anomalies in the salary fixation, the inadequacy of the present wages and certain unsatisfactory conditions relating to promotion are stated to form the main reasons for the men's decision. It is explained that although the wages in all other branches of the public service have been restored to the 1931 level the requests for similar consideration for gunners in the Royal New Zealand Artillery have only evoked the answer that the matter is, receiving consideration. The Present annual salary is stated to be £59 lower than was the case six years ago. Their periods of service with the permanent staff ranging from twt> £5 a-half to four and a-half years, each of the men receives £175 per annum, from which a weekly boarding allowance of 17s 6d is deducted. This is claimed to be insufficient to allow them to live at a reasonable standard. . ~ One of the ma]or grievances lies in the fact that the former marriage allowance has not been reintroduced. About 50 per cent, of the gunners at Narrow Neck wish to marry, and their only consolation is said to lie in the public service regulation prescribing that a married man shall receive a minimum salary of k,JW. "The Police Force affords a marked contrast with the conditions which .pply in our case," one man explained. "There a recruit, after putting in six months training, commences his duties, we understand, at a salary of £299. On the other hand, a gunner puts in 12 to l* months of rigid framing and then embarks on work which involves responsible instruction to military units, in addition to other defence duties. For this he receives only £175." Slight increases in salary-are payable at the end of each five years of service, and the rank of lancebombadier, the first possible promotion, carries £222 per annum. However, only three men are reported to have been promoted from the rank of gunner in the past five years in Auckland, and cases are alleged where the promotion of non-com-missioned officers and warrant officers has not been accompanied by the increased rates of pay that are specified. There is also some complaint at the complete prohibition against the formation of an association for discussing general questions affecting the men's welfare, and it is regarded as a military crime to organise on these lines, nor can meetings of the men be held without permission.