0001740
G.F. 174
File No..
Drafted by- Typed by- Date-
DRAFT
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He notes, too, that provision still exists for individual
associations to represent sectional matters outside the
Council and that the rights of individuals by way of petition
are not affected by the creation of the Senior Civil Service
Council.
3.
The Secretary of State has also noted that the
staff side of the Senior Civil Service Council agreed on
16th June 1969 to continue with the work of the Council for
at least a further year. It is recognized that staff asso-
ciations which participate in joint consultative machinery
of this kind sometimes have to sacrifice a viewpoint of con-
viction to avoid clashes of opinion that might result in the
collapse of the machinery. But your member's can be assured
that long experience in Britain of civil service staff
relations machinery has shown such sacrifice to be insigni-
ficant compared with the improvements in conditions of ser-
vice that can be achieved for the staff as a whole when all
participants work together in a spirit of goodwill and at
all times aim at reaching agreement.
4.
Finally, I am to add that it took many years of
effort, patience and striving for mutual understanding by
the associations and the national and departmental official
sides to achieve the present high standard of staff relations
machinery in the British Civil Service of which all concerned
are justifiably proud. While this is not to say that it
should take an equally long period for the machinery in
Hong Kong to achieve the same high standard, I am to observe
/that.