It has been a while since I provided an update on the petition to the Salvation Army asking it to stop denying its former officers the pension they so rightly deserve. Whilst the work behind the scenes to campaign for change has continued, there has to my knowledge been no change of policy. The trustees of the Salvation Army Officers Pension Fund, a registered charity, are well aware of the petition but I have chosen this week to send a printed copy to the current leader of the Salvation Army in the UK. (See below).
In my experience members of the public and most Salvation Army members find it abhorrent that the Salvation Army should treat former officers so harshly. However, there are deeply embedded cultural factors within the leadership of the organisation which cause a stubborn resistance to the much-needed change which would bring an end to this systemic abuse. This partly explains why this campaign was always going to be an extended one. Sadly, so many former officers who have suffered under the policy are no longer with us, but there are still hundreds, if not thousands, whose lives are deeply impacted.
The petition remains live so please continue to sign and share to help the number of signatories top the 1000 mark. I will let you know when I receive a rely to my letter. Thank you all for your ongoing support.
Philip Mountain
email: philip.mountain@talktalk.net
30th November 2019
Commissioner Anthony Cotterill
Territorial Commander
The Salvation Army
101 Newington Causeway
London
SE1 6BN
Dear Commissioner Cotterill,
RE: Petition to Trustees of the Salvation Army Officers Pension Fund
Please find the enclosed copy of the petition requesting the Salvation Army UK Territory to Stop mistreating your officers (ministers). They all deserve a pension, not just those who remain as officers until retirement.
A copy of the current list of 946 signatories is also enclosed together with a list of 342 comments made by signatories, many of whom have been directly affected by the Salvation Army’s harsh and deliberate exclusion of former officers from receiving a pension. I will email a copy of each of these documents to you and ask that you kindly forward this to each of the trustees of the Pension Fund. I would particularly request that you and all the trustees read the signatories’ comments.
I realise that trustees will have long been aware of the petition. For example, it was discussed at an open forum during Territorial Officers’ Councils at Harrogate in October 2015. Please can you update me on what steps have been taken by the trustees to address this historical and present day injustice and bring an end to the Salvation Army’s conscious cruelty towards its former officers.
Yours sincerely,
Philip Mountain