lt.owen.ADMIN
JEB
Confidential
May 1993
PF Owen Esq
Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat
Cabinet Office
70 Whitehall
London SW1
HONG KONG:
ARRANGEMENTS FOR MEMBERS OF HER MAJESTY'S OVERSEAS
CIVIL SERVICE
Thank you for your minute of 12 May to the Foreign Secretary,
and for your paper on the HMOCS issue.
We have
The Foreign Secretary has consulted the Governor of Hong Kong
on your paper. The Governor considers that the paper does not
set out the facts and points on which decisions are required in a sufficiently balanced way. His main objection is that the paper is cast in the light of seeking a compromise between
the Treasury and the FCO proposals rather than seeing the FCO
proposal as a compromise between the Treasury position and the
demands of the HMOCS Association. He has commented that if a
compromise between the Treasury and FCO positions had been
desirable or acceptable, it would not be necessary to put the
subject to the Prime Minister for decision.
have been
The Governor believes that the central issue is one of
principle. That is whether in the case of Hong Kong, and Hong
Kong alone, HMG should depart from the established HMOCs
compensation and sterling pension safeguard arrangements introduced for every other HMOCS territory. In particular it is whether HMG should seek to introduce a new principle of UK comparability and thereby reduce the terms of the compensation
and sterling safeguard package for Hong Kong HMOCS officers.
Confidential
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