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Recommendation
7.4
After careful consideration, we came to the conclusion that the problem could best be resolved by extending the Master Pay Scale and the Disciplined Services Pay Scale by three points, and by making minor adjustments to the value of the increments above Master Pay Scale Point 45 and Disciplined Services Pay Scale Point 31 to arrive at the maximum we considered appropriate, having regard to the likely minimum for the Directorate. We tendered our advice on this subject to His Excellency the Governor in a letter dated 16th April 1980, the text of which is in Appendix XI Our recommended revised scales, together with the previous ones, are shown in Table F at the end of this Chapter. (As a result of the recent award arising from the Pay Trend Survey, these figures have been further revised and the up- to-date figures are shown in the last column of the Table.)
7.5
In the process of formulating our advice on extending the upper end of the Master Pay Scale and the Disciplined Services Pay Scale, and whilst accepting the need to pay realistic salaries to those at the upper levels, we have been conscious of the extent of the difference in the level of these salaries and those paid to staff at the bottom of the scale.
7.6
One of our Members, the Hon. Father McGovern has consistently stated at meetings when this matter has been discussed that he is unable to support what are, in his view, such large increases for the higher paid, unless more is done to improve the living standards of the lower paid. He has therefore dissented from the advice given.
7.7
The remainder of us are also concerned to improve the living standards of the lowest paid, and we have already made this clear in our Reports Nos. 1 and 2. Accordingly, we have proposed, in Chapter 6 of this Report, further improvements for staff paid from Model Scale 1. We shal1 continue to pay close and sympathetic attention to the pay of junior civil servants to ensure that they remain among the better paid at this level in Hong Kong.
Revision of Existing Rank Scales
7.8
We proposed that existing rank scales should be revised as follows :
(a)
Ranks on the existing Master Pay Scale Points 46 - 48 or the Disciplined Services Pay Scale equivalents should be converted to the revised Master Pay Scale Points 48 - 51 or the Disciplined Services Pay Scale equivalents;
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