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CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
1965, the Committee now consists of representatives of 10 govern- ment departments and eight voluntary agencies under the chairman- ship of Dr the Honourable Sir Albert Rodrigues.
GRIEVANCES
No administration is likely to claim that it functions so well that injustices do not occur. In Hong Kong there are several well- developed channels for the examination of complaints from members of the public and for helping people who have difficulty in their dealings with government departments. Probably the most com- monly used channel is an appeal or complaint to the department concerned, which will ensure a review, at a higher level, of the decision taken. Another method is a letter to the Governor or the Colonial Secretary, which will also ensure that the matter is recon- sidered. Complaints and representations are also dealt with by the office run by unofficial members of the Executive and Legislative Councils-commonly referred to as the UMELCO office which was strengthened in June 1970 by the appointment of an Administrative Secretary. City District Officers and District Officers in the New Territories also receive and investigate complaints. The absence of any statutory powers of investigation is offset by a lack of restric- tion on the type of complaint which UMELCO and the District Officers can receive and investigate. Both systems deal effectively with many grievances.
In addition members of the Urban Council have a ward system through which the urban councillors receive complaints from mem- bers of the public and bring them to the attention of the appropriate government department or raise them formally in the Urban Council.
PUBLIC SERVICE
The Public Service provides the staff for all government depart- ments, sub-departments and other units of the administration. As at April 1, 1970 the total number of posts in the Public Service (or its establishment, as it is generally called) was 79,924. The strength on January 1, 1970 was 77,975 officers of whom 76,116 were local officers and 1,859 were overseas officers.
This indicates that about one person in every 50 in Hong Kong is employed by the Government. There is a large proportion of