32
CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
was the introduction of a new pension scheme for the Public Service. One major change in the new scheme was the raising of the retirement age from 55 to 60 in keeping with present day working-life expectancy. The new scheme is a result of a continuing review aimed at modernising public service conditions of service.
The government fully recognises the value of good staff relations in the Public Service. Apart from providing a wide range of welfare and recreational facilities to staff, much effort is devoted to the promotion of effective staff consultation. The formal consultative machinery comprises two service-wide central consultative councils: the Senior Civil Service Council and the Model Scale 1 Staff Consultative Council, a Police Force Council for members of the Police Force, and departmental consultative committees for staff in all other departments. Outside these councils and committees, individual members of the Public Service or staff associations have ready access to their heads of departments or grades and the Civil Service Branch. The major review of the existing consultative machinery, which was started in 1985-6, has made good progress and is almost completed. Continued efforts were made in 1986 to increase productivity and to improve the quality of service to the public. To this end, value for money studies and work improvement studies were carried out in various departments. These studies brought about not only improve- ments in the quality of service, but also more effective deployment of staff as well as significant savings in resources.
The government attaches great importance to the training of the public servants to improve their operational efficiency, to prepare them for new challenges and higher responsibilities and to meet the developing manpower requirements of the service. The Civil Service Training Centre co-ordinates the training undertaken by public servants at local and overseas institutes and is also responsible for administering the Government Training Scholarship Scheme. The centre organises management and language skills training, and provides advice and assistance to departments on training matters. During the year increased emphasis was given to the training of junior and middle-ranking officers in management skills.
Courses conducted under the auspices of the Senior Staff Course Advisory Board continue to prepare mid-career officers for senior management responsibilities. Each course lasts for 12 weeks and has up to 40 participants. The main objectives are to enable senior officers to develop a better understanding of the environment in which government operates and to enhance their skills of problem analysis, policy and decision making. Links with the private sector are fostered through participation of executives from the private sector. Set up in 1984, the Senior Staff Course has now firmly established itself as an important component of the government's management development programme.
Language
The official languages of Hong Kong are English and Chinese. The government has taken the lead in using both English and Chinese languages in its communications with the public, and simultaneous interpretation services are provided at meetings of the Legislative Council, Urban Council, Regional Council, district boards and other government boards and committees. English is used predominantly in the commercial, financial and profes- sional circles but is also widely understood by the local Chinese population. The majority of the local Chinese community speak Cantonese, a South China dialect, and interest in learning Putonghua (Mandarin) for work or leisure is gaining momentum as closer ties with China are being developed.