1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,000 Speaker 1: Military personnel have had their Christmas and New Year leave 2 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:06,560 Speaker 1: canceled to fill the gaps left by striking civilian staff. 3 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:09,560 Speaker 1: The Defense Minister, Judith Collins, last month invoked the really 4 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:12,320 Speaker 1: used power to allow soldiers to do civilian work to 5 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: fill the gaps caused by the PSA members who are 6 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:19,079 Speaker 1: striking in negotiations. Mission home Front, which is a group 7 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:22,520 Speaker 1: that represents military personnel, has written to the Minister saying 8 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:27,440 Speaker 1: that this is an unprecedented and unacceptable move. Hayden Ricketts 9 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 1: is a retired lieutenant colonel. He's from Mission home Front 10 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:34,000 Speaker 1: and he's with me this afternoon. Hayden gid a, Hey, Ryan, 11 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:35,840 Speaker 1: how are you. I'm good, Thank you, thanks for being 12 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:40,560 Speaker 1: with me. How many military personnel are we talking about 13 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: here who might have their Christmas leave cancel or have 14 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 1: to come in a New Year's. 15 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 2: But the Defense Force responded to the letter that we 16 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:52,200 Speaker 2: wrote to the Minister and said that the calculating around 17 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 2: about fifty. I dispute that fat might be fifty in 18 00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 2: one location, but across all locations in New Zealand were 19 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 2: talking about hundreds of people have been affected. People have 20 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:05,759 Speaker 2: had to volunteer to come on to do the security 21 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 2: and to do the fire fighting work. And as you 22 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 2: stated in your intro, you know, this is an example 23 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 2: of how low government funding has got the Defense Force 24 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 2: into the situation where the Chief Defense Forces in the 25 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 2: position where he has offered a zero percent pay rise 26 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:25,920 Speaker 2: to the three thousand civilian staff that work as part 27 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:28,960 Speaker 2: of the military and the New Zealand Defense Force. And 28 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 2: as you're described, you know, we in Mission Homefront think 29 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:33,440 Speaker 2: that's an unacceptable situation for us to be in. 30 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 1: They were offered a zero percent pay increase. Can you 31 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: understand why the civilians are striking? 32 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:43,119 Speaker 2: I think I can understand just as much as your listeners, 33 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,039 Speaker 2: and you can understand. You know, that's a real insulting 34 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 2: slap in the face. You know, the defense civilians work 35 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:51,240 Speaker 2: just as hard. They're just as dedicated to their job 36 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 2: to their country as the military staff. They are the 37 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 2: backbone of a lot of the operational component parts for 38 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 2: the military. While soldier sailors and air men and women 39 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:05,800 Speaker 2: operate the aircraft, their ships and their armored vehicles, the 40 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 2: defensivillions of the people that make sure that all of 41 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:11,360 Speaker 2: that is maintained, accounted for, presented, warehouse stored. They do 42 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 2: endless tasks and the clerical office type roles, and without 43 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:17,920 Speaker 2: them the military wouldn't be functioning. To offer them as 44 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 2: zero percent pay rise is an awful situation. 45 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 1: So no one in the military, you know, in the 46 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:27,519 Speaker 1: military personnel side of it, is blaming the civilian staff 47 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: with this. It's more the lack of funding for those 48 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: who will have to come in over and be a 49 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 1: voluntary or forced coming over Christmas and give up their leave. 50 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:36,400 Speaker 1: Will they get to take their leave. 51 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:40,920 Speaker 2: After that, absolutely, of course they will. But this is 52 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 2: a group of people, you know, those uniform staff, they've 53 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 2: worked their butts off during the COVID nineteen response. They 54 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 2: occupied and looked after our country and the MiQ and 55 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 2: the managed to isolation facilities, but done their best. Recycling 56 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 2: Gabrielle and we ask them to do things that many 57 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:57,120 Speaker 2: New Zealanders won't or couldn't do. Then to ask them 58 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 2: to take on these extra roles and responsibilities to backfill 59 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:05,080 Speaker 2: the labor from the strike, it doesn't represent the level 60 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:07,400 Speaker 2: of I don't think that's an acceptable way to use 61 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:10,799 Speaker 2: there their skills and roles, and it's non acceptable way 62 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 2: to use their valuable resource. 63 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: You recently, you told our producer you recently left the 64 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:19,520 Speaker 1: Defense Force yourself? What was that for? What would happen there? 65 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 2: I don't want to make this about me, but I 66 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 2: had to leave because I couldn't afford to stay. I 67 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:32,000 Speaker 2: was observing my pay wasn't advancing along with inflation. I'd deserved, 68 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 2: you know, in my own the last sort of ten 69 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 2: years of my service, a twenty four percent pay cut. 70 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 2: Of course, increases are made to pay over that time, 71 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:41,560 Speaker 2: but it didn't keep up with inflation, and I was 72 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:46,000 Speaker 2: just watching my spending power just degrading. So I had 73 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:49,800 Speaker 2: to get out. And now I've walked on to some 74 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:53,360 Speaker 2: better paying roles. There's lots of people have they've left 75 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 2: the public sector that joined sorry, left the military, joined 76 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 2: the public or the private sector. A lot of people 77 00:03:57,440 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 2: are moving to go and join the Australian Defense Force 78 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 2: where the can and pay are so much better. And 79 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 2: I'm just one of the casualties of the many in 80 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:07,320 Speaker 2: the last sort of tow or three years that have 81 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 2: had to take that difficult decision. 82 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:12,040 Speaker 1: So why are you speaking out on behalf of those 83 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:15,839 Speaker 1: you know, sworn the military that obviously not the civilians. 84 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:18,479 Speaker 1: That's what the PSA does. But why are you taking 85 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:20,200 Speaker 1: on this role for the military. 86 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 2: So there's a series of legislative and legal rules that 87 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:28,160 Speaker 2: mean that the chief of Defense Force, the service chiefs, 88 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:31,279 Speaker 2: they are public officials, they are beholden to the Cabinet manual, 89 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 2: so they can't come out and disagree with the minister 90 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 2: or voice their own opinion. They had to sort of 91 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 2: tow the line. The Minister is not going to come 92 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:41,480 Speaker 2: out and do any of this, she's a politician. Service 93 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 2: people themselves are forbidden from unionizing, so the irony that 94 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,520 Speaker 2: they are being used to back for a union strike 95 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:50,120 Speaker 2: is that's not lost on me. But if they have 96 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:52,920 Speaker 2: an issue with their conditions, they have to use their 97 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:56,159 Speaker 2: chain of command to raise that particular challenge, and that 98 00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 2: chain of command goes all the way to the service chief. 99 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:02,600 Speaker 2: So the net result is that these no one discussing, advocating, 100 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:06,120 Speaker 2: having these conversations to support this narrative in the public. 101 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 2: And that's the gap that myself and my co founder, 102 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 2: Miss Aaron Speedy, have established. Mission home Front to China address. 103 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:14,560 Speaker 1: All right, Hayden, thanks very much for your time. I 104 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:16,600 Speaker 1: appreciate it. Hayden Ricketts. He's got out of the military 105 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:18,920 Speaker 1: himself because of the pain and the conditions. 106 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 2: For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive. 107 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 1: Listen live to news talks it'd be from four pm weekdays, 108 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.