THURSDAY, JUNĖ 17, 1976
COST OF LIVING SYSTEM CLARIFIED *****
THE SECRETARY FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE, MR. A.J. SCOTT, TODAY SAID THAT RECENT NEWSPAPER REPORTS INDICATED MISUNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT HOW THE CIVIL SERVICE COST OF LIVING SYSTEM WORKS AND WHAT HAPPENS TO IT WHEN AN OVERALL PAY REVIEW TAKES PLACE.
HE EXPLAINED THAT CERTAIN RANKS OF CIVIL SERVANTS, MAINLY LABOURERS AND ARTISANS IN THE MOD 1 PAY SCALE, RECEIVE THE COST OF LIVING ALLOWANCE. THE ALLOWANCE IS DESIGNED AS A +TEMPORARY BUFFER+ AGAINST AN INCREASE IN THE COST OF LIVING BETWEEN OVERALL PAY REVIEWS. THE ALLOWANCE IS REVIEWED QUARTERLY IN THE LIGHT OF THE MOVEMENT OF THE COST OF LIVING INDEX.
COST OF LIVING ALLOWANCE PAYMENTS ARE ABSORBED IN AN OVERALL REVIEW, BECAUSE THE NEW SALARY LEVELS ESTABLISHED IN AN OVERALL REVIEW TAKE INTO ACCOUNT ALL APPROPRIATE EVIDENCE SINCE THE DATE OF THE PREVIOUS OVERALL REIVEW.
+HOWEVER, IT IS IMPORTANT TO REALISE THAT THE COST OF LIVING ALLOWANCE SYSTEM CONTINUES TO EXIST AND ALLOWANCES WILL BE PAID IF AND WHEN THERE IS AN INCREASE IN THE COST OF LIVING AS SHOWN UP IN THE COST OF LIVING INDEX,+ MR. SCOTT STRESSED.
THE SECRETARY FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE POINTED OUT THAT SINCE THE LAST OVERALL PAY REVIEW IN APRIL 1974, LABOURERS ON A SALARY OF $745 A MONTH HAD RECEIVED A VARYING COST OF LIVING ALLOWANCE AND BY APRIL 1976 THE AMOUNT WAS $60 PER MONTH. DURING THIS TWO-YEAR PERIOD, THE SALARIES OF CIVIL SERVANTS WHO DO NOT RECEIVE COST OF LIVING ALLOWANCES HAD NOT BEEN INCREASED.
THEREFORE, FOLLOWING THE NORMAL PRACTICE, THE RECENTLY ANNOUNCED CIVIL SERVICE OVERALL INCREASE WAS APPLIED TO THE 1974 BASIC SALARY LEVELS - $745 A MONTH IN THE CASE OF LABOURERS - IN ORDER TO ARRIVE AT NEW BASIC SCALES AS AT APRIL 1, 1976, THIS PRODUCED THE NEW BASIC SALARY OF $840, AND THE COST OF LIVING ALLOWANCE IN PAYMENT WAS ABSORBED IN THE NEW BASIC SALARY.
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