12
20.
The merits of this policy are in dispute from
time to time, but I should
like to remind our instant
critics that, first, it is
experienced
in the public interest that
and efficient
officers be
the service of
retained; secondly, it can be argued that the statutory
retirement age of 55 is unrealistic in this day and age;
who have reached the
and, thirdly, unless
statutory
retirement
officers
age
are
eligible
for
gratuity-bearing contract terms or are permitted to draw
their pensions in addition to
to their
salaries, continued
service with the Government will
Government will be unattractive, given
that the officers concerned
retire with their earned
as the
pensions and then take up paid employment in the private
sector. The cost to public funds of employing an officer
on pension after retirement is virtually the same
cost of the pension payable to an officer who leaves the
service plus the emoluments of his replacement. So there
is no net additional cost to the Treasury.
Training
21.
groom
Mr Chan Ying-lun also spoke of the need to
upcoming officers
to
shoulder
responsibilities in the years ahead.
heavier
I can assure
Members that the Government is taking positive steps to
ensure that civil servants
are
equipped with the
necessary skills to cope with the increasing demands
imposed on them as a result of the growing diversity and