(Transcript from SBS World News Radio)
Groups representing those serving in the Australian Defence Force say they are insulted and disappointed by the federal government's latest pay offer.
They are being asked to give up leave conditions and accept a pay rise well below inflation.
Thea Cowie reports.
(Click on the audio tab above to hear the full report)
Just as Australia heads to a new theatre of war in Iraq, a fight is on over how much those serving in the Defence Force personnel are to be paid.
The Defence Force Welfare Association's Les Bienkiewicz says the current pay offer is insulting.
"People are feeling very, very disappointed that the government has let them down at this point in time. The ADF is expecting to work harder, do more with less, and the pace of operational tempo is certainly not decreased. Given all that, they're now given a reduction in their salary and a reduction in their entitlements. We're pretty disappointed -- and insulted, in fact."
Thousands of Defence Force members are being offered a 1.5 per cent per annum pay increase over three years.
That is below inflation, currently at 3 per cent.
To achieve the reduction in pay, Defence Force members are being asked to give up six days of leave a year.
Mr Bienkiewicz says the government is finding plenty of additional funding for operations in Iraq, but not for wages.
"The net effect to the Commonwealth of this offer is zero, because the offer that's being made to members of the ADF -- 1.5 per cent a year -- is being funded in the main by reductions in allowances and increases in productivity. So, in fact, the members themselves are paying for a substandard pay rise."
The pay offer would mean most defence salary increases being cut in half.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says the Abbott Government is being mean-spirited.
"The Abbott Government offering1.5 per cent has insulted 70,000 members of our defence forces and their families. I never foresaw a set of circumstances where the government of the day -- who would send Australian defence personnel in harm's way -- would be asking them to take cuts on their recreational leave and also accept a wage rise which is incredibly mean-spirited."
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, Steve Ciobo, has told Sky News Labor is being hypocritical.
"The fact is that Labor is big on rhetoric, big on talk. But two key points: One, when you were in government, you slashed spending by 25 per cent. And two, you're now demanding all this extra pay, and your opposition stands in contrast -- and stands in opposition -- to us actually making additional budget savings which could pay for the very increase that you're talking about."
The Defence Force Welfare Association has surveyed about 8,000 serving members regarding the pay offer and found nine in 10 were dissatisfied.
Responses include:
"There are enough burned-out soldiers without this proposal creating more." ... "If you pay peanuts, you'll only get monkeys."
The offer was dropped on the Defence Force community five days before a decision is made at the tribunal.
It has also come a week after the first Australia bombs were dropped in Iraq.
Assistant Defence Minister Stuart Robert says he has great respect for Defence Force members.
He has described the offer as "currently the most generous offer made to any Commonwealth agency."
He has also pointed to the need for budget savings across the board.
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