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(a) Class.
Writing Assistant. Clerical.
1
Executive and Administrative.
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(b) Functions.
For simple mechanical work. For the better sort of work included in the first main category defined above.
For the work included in the second main category defined above.
Administrative Posts.
(c) Salary.
18s. to 38s, a week. Junior Grade. Men: £60-£350. Women: £60-£250.
Senior Grade. Men: £300-£400. Women: £230-£300. Training Grade. Men: £100-£400. Women: £100-£300.
Higher Grade. Men: £400-£500. Women: £300-£400.
Cadet Corps. Į Men: £200-£500. Women: £200-£400.
5. The Joint Committee agreed that provision should be made for the recruit- ment of a portion of the Executive and Administrative Class by promotion of officers of lower grades in the earlier stages of their service, and as regards the Adminis- trative Class, the Committee consider that well qualified officers of other classes, who have not been so chosen for promotion to the Cadet Corps, should be eligible for employment on work of the same kind as that performed by the Cadet Corps; such selected officers to be placed on the following scales of salary:—
Men: £400-£500.
Women: £300-£400.
(The above scales of salary are assessed on a pre-War basis, i.e., exclusive of war bonus; and the salaries of the Higher Clerical Class, Executive and Adminis- trative Classes are inclusive of overtime.)
6.
Application of Report to the Colonial Office. Writing Assistants.
We have considered the application of the Report of the Joint Committee to the Colonial Office. We are of the opinion that the routine work of the Colonial Office is not of such a nature as to justify the employment of the Writing Assistant Class, and that simple and mechanical routine duties in the department should be given to members of the Clerical Class during the initial stages of their career, provided that arrangements can be made to avoid the retention of individual mem- bers of the class on such work for an unduly long period.
Executive Class.
7. The Joint Committee do not contemplate that all offices will contain members of both the Clerical and the Executive Classes (paragraph 36). We find that the work allocated to the Executive Class as described in paragraphs 16, 17, and 32 of the Report is not at present assigned to members of the staff below the Administrative Class to an extent sufficient to justify the employment of the Executive Class in the Colonial Office. We are of opinion that such work cannot be separated from that of the Administrative Class without loss of efficiency, and we consider that the introduction of this class in the department would result in members of the grade being assigned duties which should be performed by members of the Clerical Class. We agree that the work of the department can best be pro- vided for by the appointment of the Administrative and Clerical Classes only, with an adequate number of posts corresponding in grading and pay to those of the Higher Grade of the Executive Class, as contemplated in paragraph 36 of the Report of the Joint Committee.
Absorption of the Existing Classes.
8. We have considered the question of the absorption of the different members of the department into the new classes provided for in the Report of the Joint Com- mittee. The case of the Second Class Clerks and Assistant Clerks presents no diffi- culty, as it is contemplated that, subject to fitness, they will be absorbed in the Cadet Corps and Clerical Class respectively. In view of the opinion of the Joint
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Committee that existing Second Division Clerks should normally be assigned to the Executive Class, it will be necessary to contemplate the transfer of a certain number of the Second Division Clerks, at present employed in the Colonial Office, to depart- ments where the Executive Class is employed. We think it is clear from paragraphs 69 and 70 of the Report of the Joint Committee that members of this class can only be assimilated in the department by appointment to the higher grade of the Clerical Class or to the posts referred to in the preceding paragraph. In view of the fact that the Colonial Office was staffed up to 1914 (immediately below the First Division) exclusively from the Second Division, we consider it is important that the more experienced members of the class should, if possible, be retained in the department, and that they should be offered opportunities of advancement at least equal to those afforded to members of the Executive Class in other departments: As no Boy Clerks are being recruited, this class will ultimately disappear.
Limits of Inquiry.
9. In endeavouring to arrive at an estimate of the total establishment required in the future, we have, following the example of the Joint Committee, regarded officers with a maximum exceeding £500 a year as outside the scope of our inquiry, and we have limited our inquiry to the clerical and administrative establishment of the office.
The authorized establishment of the office at the present time is shown in Appendix I. In Appendix II. we have endeavoured to estimate the establishment that will be required in future for work other than that assigned to the Admini- strative Class, and in Appendix III. the present and proposed staff in the different branches of the office.
Administrative Posts.
10. The number of Cadets required in the Colonial Office will be determined by the number of the higher administrative posts; and until this number is fixed we are unable to express any opinion as to numbers to be recruited to the Cadet Corps, or the number of posts which might be filled in the manner indicated in paragraph 51 of the Joint Report. We recommend that steps be taken to determine the future administrative establishment of the department at an early date, and are agreed that in applying paragraphs 36, 47, 48, and 51 of the Report of the Joint Committee to the Colonial Office, measures should be taken to provide in the establishment for posts of the kind contemplated in paragraph 51. We are of opinion that, pending the settlement of the numbers of the Administrative Class, it is desirable that a beginning should be made in this direction by considering, when vacancies occur in the establishment of temporary Junior Clerks, whether the necessary adjustment of establishment could not be best effected by appointments of the kind contemplated in paragraph 51.
Registry.
11. We consider that the Registry should in future be staffed with members of the Clerical Grade, but that this will involve taking away from the Sub-Regis- tries certain duties now discharged therein. We are of the opinion that a centrali- zation of the Registries would result in economies in working, but we are informed that this is impracticable at the present time on account of the lack of suitable office accommodation. We suggest that the possibility should be considered of centralizing the Tropical African Registries by a rearrangement of the existing accommodation and of reducing the number of Registries to two when suitable accommodation is available; one for the "Dominions and one for the "Colonies." Revision of Records.
12. We recommend that steps be taken as soon as possible to provide for the Revision of Records, which was suspended during the War; and that the officer assigned for this duty should also be entrusted with the custody of the older records, and provided with the necessary staff of Paper Keepers. In view of the fact that Boy Clerks will no longer be available for sorting and handling papers, we consider it desirable that the Registries should be relieved of the custody of all but the more recent papers.
13.
Chief RegistraTM.
We recommend that the Chief Registrar should be relieved of the detailed work of the Central Registry and of the payment of weekly wages to the subordi- nate staff, to enable him to attend to his more important duties of supervision
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE |
Reference :-
885/26
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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