2.
(ii) Clause 15 This clause simply gives a blank endorsement that
Government may reverse its agreement at Council meetings and do whatever it wishes without consulting the staff associations. We question the need of Government for such double safeguard in normal time, though we agree that this need may exist in time of emergency. But, Government can also fall back on its Emer- gency laws and regulations whenever necessary. We therefore propose that this clause be deleted altogether. ALTERNATIVELY, a sentence should be added there to requiring that this clause should be enforced only with extreme prudence.
3. Grievance Machinery
Whenever a junior officer (especially a junior officer of Chinese race) is charged on disciplinary grounds, he is often too timid and/ or inadequate in their knowledge of the English language to make use of the existing channels of petition. We have repeatedly asked Government to set up an independent grievance machinery with the accused officer duly represented by his staff association. Government has recently proposed to let the Public Services Commission handle grievance cases, but we are most unhappy that the staff association concerned is not to be included. The staff association concerned must be allowed to represent its members and must be given access to all relevant documents.
4. Salaries and Salaries Revision
The salary differential between the senior and the junior officers is deplorable: the ratio can be 50+ : 1. The differential in real wages between expatriate and non-expatriate officers is equally deplorable, even though the posts and the work are identical. While advocating 'equal pay of equal work', Government should not let such anomalies continue, if the morale of a very large portion of the Civil Service is to be maintained at a desirable level. Since 1958, the overall results of salary revisions have been very much in favour of the top-salaried brackets, leaving the rest more and more dissatisfied. We have suggested that salaries should be revised at regular short intervals in accordance with a faithful set of Retail Price Index. We further suggested the narrowing of the wage differentials.
But, so far, it seems that our effort is likely to be fruitless.
5. Equal Pay for Women
While agreeing to complete the implementation of equal pay for women by 1975, Government has deferred without a good reason the inclusion of nurses and teachers in the scheme of implementation. Government claimed that the deferment was necessary because in the case of teachers their salary structure was being reviewed and in the case of nurses their salary structure was likely to be reviewed. Since 1963, the salaries of government teachers have been going through a series of reviews without any published conclusion. to the nurses, the 'intended' review is still very much in thin air, This issue has captured tremendous public attention and is being viewed by all people with much concern. (Please refer to Attachments 2-5). We humbly solicit your much needed assistance in effecting equal pay for women teachers and nurses as well.
6. Promotion Prospects.
As
The three main staff associations on 28th August, 1968 submitted to Government that those officers who had reached the top of their salary scale but due to lack of promotion posts, stayed on the maximum salary of their particular grade for many years shorld after three years at the top of their salary scale/segment, pass on to the next segment subject to the recommendation of their Head of Department. This was turned down by Government by a recent correspondence.