MIDDLE EAST VETERANS

Southland Times, Issue 25484, 3 October 1944, Page 6

MIDDLE EAST VETERANS

Further Details Of

Replacement Plan

(Special) AUCKLAND, October 2. Clarity is now being given to various important details which were left obscure by the general statement by the Prime Minister, Mr Fraser, on the Government’s new policy for the replacement of veterans of the 2nd Division by men drawn from the 3rd Division and by grade A men held in industry on appeal. All the points are of the utmost importance to the men concerned and to their employers.' The first is the position of 2nd Division officers and men who are at present in New Zealand on furlough. Mr Fraser said the replacement scheme would apply to the men of the Ist, 2nd, and 3rd echelons who “returned to the Middle East at the conclusion of their furlough.” He did not, however, mention the furlough men now in the country. OPTION BEING GIVEN All non-commissioned ranks among these men have been given the option of staying in New Zealand and being directed to essential industry or of returning to the Middle East. Officers have been dealt with differently, although they have been able to make application to remain on various grounds. Men electing to stay in _New Zealand are being given 14 days’ leave on pay and are then being placed on indefinite leave without pay. They become liable to manpower direction at the expiration of their leave on pay. Both in the case of furlough men now in New Zealand and of veteran members of the division who will be brought back to the country under the replacement scheme, exemption from direction to essential industry will be the right only of those men graded 3 or 4 who are discharged from the Army as medically unfit. It is not certain whether the men now overseas will be given the option of remaining with the division, or whether they will be returned to New Zealand without the option. In the case of all 2nd Division veterans who become available for essential industry, employers in essential industries will be entitled to apply for any men whom they employed at the time of enlistment. These applications may be made after, but not before, the arrival in New Zealand of the men whose services are desired. It seems to be fairly clear that employers who make such applications will have every chance of success if they have a fit man on appeal who can be released to take the place of the soldier. No indication has been given officially of the industries or occupations which will probably receive the greatest immediate benefit from the scheme. It is generally thought, however, that several thousands of farmers and farm hands will be among those brought back progressively from the Middle East and Central Mediterranean theatres. Building and construction trades will absorb many others. The soldiers, relations, and employers should know that a man who is skilled in an unessential industry may well be directed to an unskilled job in an essential industry. This is the usual and not a new practice, RE-ESTABLISHMENT RIGHTS

Of great importance to all the men brought back from the 2nd Division is > the fact, which was not stated in the report of Mr Fraser’s outline of policy, that their occupational re-establish-ment rights will be preserved throughout the period during which they are engaged in an industry to which they are directed. After they finally leave this industry their pre-enlistment employers will still have the duty of reemploying them, subject to the usual provisions. For the men of the 3rd Division and for grade A men held in industry on appeal, the most important implication of the new policy is their approaching responsibility for service with the 2nd Division. They want to know how soon they are likely to be called up and what are the conditions which make them eligible for service. No definite answer can be given to the first question. It is unknown how many men will be wanted to reinforce the 2nd Division from now until the completion of the Italian campaign, when the future of the division will be reviewed, or when reinforcements will be called to camp. As for eligibility, there is uncertainty whether the upper age limit for Expeditionary Force service is to remain at 40 or to be dropped to 35. The division was built up of men between the ages of 21 and 40, both inclusive, but at least one fairly recent reinforcement draft did not take men older than 35. It also seems to be the practice not to send overseas any man with more than two children. REINFORCEMENT POOL Upon this question of eligibility depends the exact size of the pool of men available for overseas reinforcements. Grade A men held in industry on appeal number about 40,000, but they include many who would be ineligible if the upper age limit is to be 35, or if men with -more than two children are not to be accepted. Men of the 3rd Division who were returned to New Zealand for direction to essential industry probably account for an additional 11,000. Those of the same division now in camp or on furlough possibly number another 6000. In addition there are youths who are coming of age almost every day. Although all these categories are, by the Prime Minister’s statement, liable to be used to replace Middle East veterans, it is not known what priority, if any, would be exercised in their mobilization. It is possible that 3rd Division men, youths coming of age, and grade A men in industry whose appeals have been dismissed after review would form the first group to be used.