BARRACKS GUNNERS RESIGN

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 28, 27 October 1937, Page 6

BARRACKS GUNNERS RESIGN

-Preas Association.)

Wage Restoration Was Not Granted MANY GRIEVANCES

(By Telegrapfi-

AUCKLAND, Lart NigkL a As a result of what tkey consider thej failure of the Defence Department |j reply adequately to insistent requestd for restoration of their wages to thej 1931 level, the bulk of the 34 gunners stationed at the Narrow Neck barrackf of the Royal New Zealand Artillery have resigned from the service. The complete personnel sought a disckarge on September 21, but tk8 men weri given until noon to-day to ..reconsideij their decision and several are reportwl i" to kave witkdrawn from their formetf stand. . - Alleged anomalies in-tho salary fiwa tion, iuadequacy of tke present wage# and certain unsatisfactory condition# relating to promotion are stated to f orm( the main reasons for the men's decisionu It is explained that, although the wage^ in all other branches of the public sew ' vice have been restored to the 193l| level, xequests for similar considerationl for the gunners in the Royal New Zea-i land Artillery kave only evoked tho! answer that the matter is receivingj consideration. The present annual saW ary is stated to .be £59 lower' than wa# fche case six years a zo.

Their periods of service witk tke permanent staff rangiag fr0m two anf| a-half to four and a-kalf years, each of ; tke men receives £175 per annum, from wkick a weekly boarding allowance 17s!'6d is deducted. This'ia claimed fc .be insufficient to allow tkem to live at & reasonablo standara. One major _grievance lies ia tke -f act • tkat tke fo'rmer maTriage allowance, ka# flot been reintroduqed. About 50 pet tent, of tke. gunners at Narrow Neck wisk to marry, and tkeir.onjy consola- ' tion is said to lie in the public servics regulation prescribing tfiat ,a married man shall receive a minimum salarv oi £205. . , . _ - " The -police. force affords. a marked eontrast to tke conditions- whick applj In our case," one man explained, "Tkere tke reeruit, after-putting in si# montks' training, commences' his duties| we understarid, at a salaTy of £299. Oa tke other hand. a gunner puts in 12 to 14 months of rigid .training ' and then / embarks on work which' invblves re« ! sponsible instruction to military tlniti in addition to other defence dutiea For this ke receives only £175," ' Slight increases in salary are payabli at the end of each five years of service, and the rank ' of lance-bombardier, thi first possible promotion, carrles £221 per annum. However, only three menare reported to kave been promoted from the rank of gunnef in the past fivo years in Auckland, and cases are alleged where promotion of non-commissioned cffieers and warrant officers ' has not been accompanied by the increased rates of pay that axe specified. There is also some complaint at tho complete prohibition against the formation of an association for discussing general questions affecting the -men welfare, and it is regarded as a miliT tary crime to organise on these linesj nor may . meetings of the men be held without permission.