Red faces in New Hebrides

There was some embarrassment among British officials in the New Hebrides in early April when the entire New Hebridean staff of the British National Service went on strike over a pay claim.

Local pay scales in the British Service had fallen well behind those of the partner services, the French National Service and the Condomi nium Service, and the New Hebrideans had finally got tired of waiting for their claims for increases to be pro cessed.

The New Hebridean British Civil Servant Association called the strike on April 4—the day after Easter— and it was not called off until April 18 when members voted unanimously to accept a 12 per cent, interim award

from the British Government after having spurned the same offer on two previous occasions.

No one’s quite sure whether either side benefited from the strike. The New Hebrideans lost a fortnight’s pay but perhaps gained something in the way of “face”, and the realisation that they are now in a position to apply considerable leverage when it is necessary provided there is solidarity among the different islanders. The British Government certainly didn’t lose financially—the interim award stands against a final salary review decision not yet made by London — but it did lose a certain amount of face, especially in the light of its previous self-satisfied opinion of its relations with New Hebrideans.