COLET ENTIAL.
The Honourable to Colonis gearet‹ry,
Hong Ko
sir,
Big Kong.
20th Jamury, 1948.
شما
@ behalf of the Council of the European Civil Servants Assoolatie I have the honour to request clarification of the position in regard to the proposed conversion of the salaries of expatriate Officers lo a Hong Kong dollar basis.
2.
The
The grounds for this propoml are by no means oleár. Salṣrim Commission, in paragraph 15 of its Report, quotes the following passa from the White Paper Colonial No.197 of 1946 relating to the gramation of the Colonial Service:
(1) The a-laries of all posts in the public service
of a Colony should be determined according to
the nature of the work and the relative responsibilities irrespective of the race domicile of the individual.
(ii) The salaries should be fixed at rates applicable to locally recruited staff, even though the:
for the time being, be gredes in which few ▷ no locally recruited officers are in fact serving
(111) In fixin those basic salaries regard should be paid to the relevant siromastangos, such as the ruling incom lɛvels in those elames of the commɛity from which
will be recruitet,
ublic servios in or
(iv) \hare the salaries so fixed are insufficient to attract and r'tain officers from overseas, expatriation pay should be provided for such offios
(v) The practice of providing free qu»ters for
ain classes of of icers should be di
timmed where it exista,'
The Commission then proceeds to the following decision, without ad any reasons, saving a reference "the policy outlined above":
# 16.
We decided at an ourly stage in our disomɛions that in view of the policy out ined above we would recommend that in fature all salaries and ecolɩzsents payable to public efficers in Hong Kong should be expressed in liong Kong murrency: and that the existing distinction between sterling and dollar paid officer should be done away with. The salaries recommended in the Sabadules to this Report are all expromed in Hong Kong dollars, although the sterling equivɛulenta heve been inslados for purposes of œmparison with acisting sonles In making our regim
vations we have taloms the
exchange value of the Hons, Kem Jollar at 1/3d."
Page 60Page 61
3.