278
CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
normal policy is to appoint them initially on contract terms, with the possibility of transfer to pensionable terms only if suitable local candidates are unlikely to become available in the foreseeable future.
Decisions were taken during the year on the recommendations of the 1965 Salaries Commission which had reported the previous year. These decisions included acceptance of the general salary increases recommended by the Commission (broadly, 16 per cent with somewhat higher increases at the minor staff level) with effect from 1st April 1965; re-introduction on an optional basis of 100 per cent pensionability offset by a 25 per cent reduction in vacation leave-earning rates; and, for women, equal pay within a period of 10 years from 1st April 1965, provided that they are judged to be doing work identical with that of men or work of equal value. The new salaries were introduced in June and all arrears paid by the end of July. These decisions, and their implementation, were accompanied by acceptance and implementation of the recommenda- tions of the Standing Committee on Superscale Salaries relating to salary increases and other matters affecting officers in the super- scale.
Another important development during the year was the negotia- tion of an agreement between the government and the three main Staff Associations-the Association of European Civil Servants, Senior Non-Expatriate Officers Association and Hong Kong Chinese Civil Servants Association. This agreement is concerned with consultative machinery relating to the conditions of service of public officers and includes provision for the setting up of a Senior Civil Service Council and the reference of certain matters to an independent Committee of Inquiry.
URBAN COUNCIL PUBLIC LIBRARIES