Censorship Descends On N.Z. Officials In London

Chronicle (Levin), 12 November 1949, Page 5

Censorship Descends On N.Z. Officials In London

FORBIDDEN BY PRIME MINISTER TO DISCUSS GRIEVANCES WITH PRESS

Received Friday, 8.50 p.m. LONDON, Nov. 11. Instructions have recently been given to all New Zealand Civil Servants stationed in London' that they are not to discuss their grievances with representatives of the New Zealand Press. These instructions, it is understood, have been issued at the order of the Minister of External Affairs (Rt. Hon. Peter Fraser) following the publication at the end of Aiigust of a N.Z. Press Association message from London reporting the fact that a deputation from the staff of New Zealand House had waited upon the High Commissioner (Mr. W. J. Jordan) and asked him to bring a number of complaints before the Prime Minister.

When an effort was made tliis week to ascertain whether tliere bad been any official replv to these submissions the N.Z.P.A. representative was informed that no information eould be given. Despite efforts to prevent details of the grievances of New Zealand Civil Ser vants in the United Kingdom Teaching the New Zealand Press they have for so long been the subject of general discussion that it is not difficult to ontline them. Sonie of them have been before the authorities in New Zealand for at least two years and are still unsettled. These representations, it is understood, have not only been made directly by ietrer through the High Commissioner but by interviews with NewT Zealand Cabinet Ministers wlien visiting London, and w)th the Seeretarv of the Department of External Affairs, Mr A. D. Maelntosli. The grievances appear to arise in general from four main clauses: Firstlv: Failure of the New Zealand authorities in lixing scales of remuneration in the United Kingdom to make adequate allowance for the steep rise in the eost of living in Britain, and particularlv for the high eost of living in London. Secoudlv: Pailure to ensure that salaries and allowances paid in London are reasonably equivalent to those paid 1 for comparable positions in other New Zealand diplomatic posts such as Washington, Ottawa, Moscow and Canberra. Thirdly: Failure to ensure that they also compare reasonably with the remuneration paid for comparable work and responsibility by other Commonwealth (lovernments with offices in London. Fourtidy: Failure to make readjustments in New Zealand inconie tax demands following the Kevaluation of New Zealand pound at parity with sterling. All the New Zealand civil servants in London are affeeted to a greater or lesser degree by these considerations and the long delay in dealing with them is causing general dissatisfactiion and irritation. Tliis is a state of affairs with which anyone regularly in touch with New Zealand Civil Servants in London poon becomes familiar, and is not something that ean be suppressed by otlicial instructions. The extent to whicli the eost of living in London has increased during the past tliree years is uncertain. The British official eost of living index records an 11 per cent inerease since 1947 (when the basis of compntation was changed), but British Civil Servants and others who have discussed the bearing of this question npon salaries place the inerease at betwcen 15 and 20 poi- cent. New Zealand Civil Servants in London contend that the effect of this upon their standards of living is not realised hy authorities in New Zealand despite efforts to impress it ^pon them. Cases can he cited of New Zealand officials who are not only finding it difficult to make ends meet even after stringent economies, hut who are actually being compelled to draw substantially upon savings in order to balance their accounts. This situation is aecentuated by the extremelv high rent charges in London —particularlv for limited tenancies — and for those with children by the high eost of education whicli in the majoritv of cases nmst be carried out at fee-paying schools. Adjustments made in New Zealand allowances since the war to meet these circiimstanees are demonstrably inadequate. Another grievance wliieh applies more particularlv to the more senior officers is over the question of entertainment allowances. Only two New Zealand officials in addition to the High Commissioner himself receive these allowances, but a number of officers who in the ordinary course of their official dealings with British and other Commonwcalth Departments are called npon to extend hospitality is considerablv more 1 hau that. As a result those not

in reeeipt of entertainment allowances have been compelled to refuse hospitality because they cannot hope to reciprocate it. This gave rise last year to an , unpleasant gihe emanating from one of the other Commonwealth offices in Lon don to the effect that New Zealanders were "poor whites." The gihe was not restricted to Civil Services circles hut hecame known to outside memhers of the New Zealand community. Official entertaining is recognised as part of London business and official life, and British Government and other Commonwealth Departments as well as business interests make mnch more liberal allowances for the fact than is done by the New Zealand Govern ment. The discrepancv between salaries and allowances paid to New Zealand officers posted to London and those paid to New Zealanders sent to Washington, Moscow, Ottawa and Canberra is mark ed, and is very mueh against those holding London appointments — and this despite the fact that reeent official investigations have sliown that the eost of living in London is now higher than it is in eitlxer Washington or Ottawa". Allowance for this is made by other Commonwealth Governments in fixing salary scales, but not by New Zealand. Some of the difficulty at least seems to arise from the fact that Washington, Ottawa, Moscow, Canberra, and more recently Paris, are all classed bv the authorities in New Zealand as "diplomatic posts," whereas the High Commissioner 's Offiee in London is consider ed merely an extension overseas of the Civil Serviee Departments in New Zealand. New Zealand Civil Servants are at present the poorest paid of any of the employees of the four senior dominions in London. The Canadian rates are approximately double those paid by New Zealaixd; the Australian rates are about 50 per cent better and the South African rates tliough lower than the Australian are still better than New Zealand. Even so Canadian, Australian and South African civil servants eohtend that their rates are not high enough to meet the present eost of living, and are making representations aceordingly. Until the New Zealand pound was brought to parity with sterling in August 1947 New Zealand officials in London had been abie to l-ecoup themselves a little by taking advaxxtage of the favourable sterling exchange rate in remitting insurance premiums and so on to New Zealand. The revaluation of the New Zealand pound, however, not only removed this opportunity but at the same time sharply depreciated the vahie of any capital transfers made by Civil Servants to enable them to set up house in London. As these expenses are invariably heavy their loss has been considerable. The question of readjustment by London allowances to compensate for these losses was taken up with New Zealand immediately after the alteration in the exchange rate over a year ago, but it is still unsettled. Tndeed the loss has been increased by the fact that the 1947-48 demands for New Zealand income tax sent to New Zealand Civil Servants in London are based upon their salaries prior to the revaluation of the pound, but must be paid at the new x*ate. The latest instruction forbidding New Zealand civil servants in London to diseuss grievances with the Press is contrary to practice in the British Civil Serviee where wage and salary claims are openly argued "before arbitration toribunals and reported in the British newspapers. It also appears to be contrary to practice in New Zealand itself. There is a feeling among New Zealand civil servants here that consideration of their grievances has not only been unjustifiably delayed but than an effort is "being made to prevent their heing ventilated.