Appendix
Welfare Class Review in Social Welfare Department
In May 1977, the Director of Social Welfare appointed an
internal Working Party to conduct an overall review of the structures
and pay scales of the various grades in the Welfare Class in the Social
Welfare Department. The Working Party reported in May 1978 and recommen-
ded the introduction of a new grade structure and pay revisions for certain ranks. The Working Party's recommendations were discussed exhaustively among the Social Welfare Department, Government Secretariat branches
and staff associations concerned. As a result, a package proposing the
introduction of a new grade structure and revision of pay scales for certain ranks was formulated. This package was approved by the Finance Committee
on 11 April 1979 to take effect from 1 April 1979.
2.
The Welfare Class Review was essentially an internal exercise
to restructure the Social Welfare Department in order to provide, through
an improved grade structure and pay scales, an enhancement of social welfare services to the public and a solution to the staff problems in
the Department. The main recommendations, which were accepted by the
Government, were:
(a) the separation of social security from social work in
order to maximise the use of trained social workers; (b) the creation of a new grade of Social Work Assistant
to which social work graduates of post-secondary
colleges, the Polytechnic and the former Institute of Social Work Training could be appointed to perform
the less specialised social work tasks which do not
require the professional knowledge possessed by
University trained social workers;
(c) the abolition of the Welfare Supervisor grade whose
officers previously worked exclusively in correctional
and rehabilitation institutions and who will now be
absorbed into the Social Work Assistant grade;
(d) the revised salary scales for the Welfare Assistant
grade officers who will be limited to work in the social security stream of the Social Welfare
Department and involved in investigations into appli- cations for social security and accident compensation;
.../2