N
2.
We cannot find any good reason advanced by the Government in rejecting our claims
and we can only reckon that we are being singled out for special adverse
treatment, because the number of Shorthand-Audio Typists in government service
is very small (only about 400 in total) and our Association is therefore not
at all strong by trade union standards, and neither can we have the support of
any large trade union organisations behind us. We are very inexperienced in
handling negotiations and we think that the experienced officers on the
government side always try to out-manoeuvre us.
We can no longer maintain representations in Hong Kong and therefore hope
that we can obtain support from those interested in our cause in England.
We do not wish to ask for anything more than our entitlement but we feel
that we should be treated equally with other grades of the Civil Service and
the Government has given us no good reason why we should be discriminated
against in this way.
Our qualifications have been raised since the change in salaries scales was
proposed, but in practice our expectation has been reduced comparatively
with the Personal Secretaries with whom we have a close affinity and to whose
grade we look for promotion.
continued