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Wednesday, October 25, 1972
APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO ATTEND CONFERENCE
A Government spokesman today described as "far from accurate" certain
remarks made during yesterday's opening of the Public Services International
(P.S.I.) Third Asian Regional Conference concerning the granting of leave to
civil servants to attend the conference.
He said the Colonial Secretary had personally given instruction that
any civil servants who applied for leave to attend the conference should be
allowed to do so.
He was referring to the remarks, published in today's newspapers,
which alleged that civil servants had been prevented from attending the conference
because of Government's refusal to grant them special leave.
The spokesman explained that one of the Staff Associations affiliated
to the P.S.I. applied in writing to the Establishment Secretary on October 11,
1972, for special leave for five of its members so that they could attend the
conference from October 24 to 26, 1972.
Other five staff associations submitted their applications to the
head of the departments concerned at about the same time, he said,
"In accordance with the practice first laid down in May 1970 when the
P.S.I. held a regional seminar in Hong Kong, the associations were notified well
before the opening of the conference that officers could not be granted absence
from duty but that they might apply for casual or vacation leave and that wherever
possible, their applications would be approved.
"If it so happened that an officer did not have any leave credited to
him, the associations were informed that such officers could apply for an advance
of leave, and that their applications would be sympathetically considered," he said.
In this connection, the spokesman said, it was grossly unfair to suggest
that Government had in any way prevented members of Civil Service Staff Association
from attending the P.S.I. conference.
Release Time: 7.00 p.m.
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