2
work than civil servants in most other countries, for in Hong Kong a
single unified civil service undertakes duties which elsewhere tend to
be split between the staffs of central government, local government
and various public bodies.
6.
In an organization of this size and complexity it is hardly
surprising that questions of pay and rank should give rise to likely
argument. Nor, since civil service salaries are a matter of public
knowledge, is it surprising that civil servants should make full use
of the media in furthering their views.
7.
Turning to the subject of civil service remuneration, there
are two main questions to be considered.
8.
The first question, and in many ways the easier one to
answer, concerns the appropriate general level of pay and fringe
benefits (e.g. pensions, leave and medical care) for the civil service
as a whole.
9.
Fortunately, Hong Kong's prosperity in recent years has
enabled the Government to provide the civil service with a general
level of pay and fringe benefits which has compared favourably with
the private sector, and which most civil servants have accepted as
reasonable.
10.
The second question, and the more difficult one to answer,
is what should be the differentials between the pay of different grades
For example should
of civil servant doing different kinds of work.
Nurses be paid more or less than Radiographers or Health Inspectors,
/and