The Salvation Army (SA) will have collected millions of pounds in donations this winter for its work among the poor and disadvantaged, but I’ve not heard yet whether it plans to stop leaving former officers out in the cold. There are no signs yet of an end to this hypocrisy and of former officers receiving a pension in the same way that former SA employees can expect. William Booth, founder of the SA, in the face of social injustice said “Get up and fight. Do something about it!” A huge thanks to all of you 318 people so far who have done just that by signing this petition. A very large proportion (125 people) have added specific written comments, including members of the public, fellow Christians from other denominations, members and employees of the Salvation Army, including serving officers, retired and former officers, and a significant number of officers’ children. It is the children who particularly experience the reality of abuse of officers which is perpetuated by the SA in the UK and it is clear that in many cases the children are speaking because their parents cannot do so due to a climate of fear. Among the comments are many from and on behalf of former officers and their families who have been adversely affected by the Salvation Army’s policy. This includes the former officer couple who gave a combined 64 years of service only to have their application for a pension rejected. I also feel for the active officer couple where one is 7 years older than the other. After 40 years individual service, if they choose to retire early in order to spend time with the older spouse they will forfeit a pension. These comments make very powerful reading. To read them all you need to scroll down to the foot of the petition and keep clicking on “More Reasons” on the right hand side at the bottom. The following powerful comment provides a succinct summary of the rationale for this petition for change: “It seems inconceivable that an organisation with a superb record of supporting those less fortunate in society, seems unwilling to extend the same support to those past members of its workforce, many of whom have given unrivalled dedication to helping others. This surely flies in the face of the ethos of ‘the Army’ and all that it does. The trustees have the ability to remedy the unjustness of the situation and I urge them to do all in their power to achieve this without delay.” A lot of serving officers have contacted me to express their support for this petition. Many have spoken about how trapped they feel. If circumstances mean they that wish to withdraw from being a SA officer, now or in the future, the policy on pension means that to do so would effectively be “financial suicide”. This truly is a modern day form of slavery practised by the very same organisation which delivers the UK government's contract to manage support services for adult victims of Human Trafficking. It hurts me to say it, but this smacks of an organisation that lacks integrity, transparency and authenticity. Another dimension has emerged of which I was unaware, even though I have been active in the SA all my life. Apparently it is SA policy that retired officers must continue to remain on the roll of a local SA Corps (church). In other words they must remain active within the SA. If they don’t then their pension could be withdrawn. This means that officers who may have come to a different theological perspective, have different needs, or who feel they no longer can or want to worship at the SA cannot become full members of another church. It seems that the stranglehold which the SA has over its officers continues even into retirement! What kind of organisation treats its own people like this? What kind of leadership is sustaining such behaviour? I hear whisperings that some former officers have been granted a pension. But surely this cannot be true, because I have it in writing from the Charity Commission that their understanding is that the governing document of the SA pension fund (The Salvation Army Act 1963) does not permit a pension to be made to any officers who resigned their post. This is why I am petitioning for the SA to seek an amendment to The Salvation Army Act 1963. If the rumours are true, I wonder on what basis any such select group of former officers are receiving a pension, and why would the SA choose to grant them a pension but not the majority of other former officers. What could be the reason(s) for such discrimination? In due course I will be seeking to meet with the trustees to present this petition to them. This is the protocol adopted by change.org. A question I will want to ask is “What has happened to the pension contributions made by former officers as a result of their work”? One answer to this question I already know: those contributions are paying for the pensions of retired officers. Their pensions are well deserved but was their work any different or more deserving to that of former officers? Among the 28 recommendations of the International Commission on Officership announced by General John Gowans in the year 2000 was that all SA territories around the world will work towards setting up a portable pension or equivalent scheme for officers. Other denominations have long since put such protective measures in place. How sad it is that 15 years later the UK Salvation Army has yet to fulfil the recommendation. Regrettably, John Gowans who was an inspirational leader, is no longer with us. I wonder what he would have thought... “All that is needed for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.” (Edmund Burke) Surely the best way to deal with abuse is to bring it out into the open and address it, not least because this is the only way to ensure that others will not continue to suffer in the same way. Please help by doing all you can to continue promoting this petition, for example by emailing a link, sharing it on facebook, twitter and other social media. My thanks to you all.