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Introduction
Recent controversy justifies need for review
1.
There has been much publicity during the last year about the Government's "localisation" policy. Our Association protests against that aspect of the policy which precludes a long serving overseas officer from changing his status to a local officer so that he may continue in Government service. The local unions protest that the pace of localisation is not fast enough and that its members are not being promoted to the top posts. Clearly there should be a general review of the policy to see if it meets the current needs of the civil service and to ensure that it is applied in a fair and lawful manner.
Review announced
2.
We had been led to believe that the Government was beginning the process of reviewing the policy when the Deputy Secretary for the Civil Service announced in January that the definition of a "local" under the Civil Service Regulations was under review. The relevant press report and Government press release are in the Appendix to this brief.
Review denied
3. However, when we met on 18 March 1993 with the Secretary for the Civil Service and his officials, the Secretary denied that such a review was being undertaken. The Secretary said that he was willing to listen to our submission and would consider whether, in light of our submission and his earlier meeting with local unions, a review should be undertaken. No decision has yet been made known to us. A copy of our letter requesting the above meeting is in the Appendix.
Policy to be kept under review
4.
This attitude of the Secretary conflicts with advice given to our Association in a letter dated 12 April 1990 when the current Chief Secretary told us that "The policy on localisation has been, and will continue to be, kept under review." This letter, of course, pre-dated the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance, enacted in 1991.
Objective
5. Our objective in meeting with members of the Legislative Council is to inform you of our concerns and of the reasons why we believe that the current localisation non-renewal policy should be reviewed. If we have persuaded you that our position merits support, we ask this Panel and individual members of Legco -
(a) to exert influence on the Government to promptly undertake a review of the non-renewal policy, in full consultation with the staff associations;