Indian military warns PM over poor wages

The Indian military on Friday took its long-running battle for higher wages to the prime minister, warning poor perks were hurting morale in one of the world's biggest armies.
A top commander representing the army, airforce and navy met Manmohan Singh to repeat demands for better pay for India's million-plus military.
The military has stepped up its demands after the government unveiled a hefty wage hike for some five million federal workers last month.
Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, who met with the premier, discussed the "core issue" of low salaries, a defence ministry official told AFP after the meeting.
The admiral handed over a memorandum to Singh which called for a review of the relatively modest perks offered to the military on August 14 when civilian government employees were given the 21-percent wage rise.
"The (wage hike) notification has unwillingly upset existing relativities between the defence forces and other central government officers," Mehta said in his appeal.
"This has not only resulted in lowering of their status, especially in the middle ranks, but also has an effect on the organisational structure in various fields where they work together," the admiral warned.
The Indian military, the world's fourth largest, has been campaigning for a 200-percent wage hike for non-ranking personnel.