167
192
the enhanced cost of living; the higher wages paid by private employers of labour; the inadequacy of the salaries given to Mauritian Civil Servants as compared with those paid in other Colonies of similar status; the difficulty of securing suitable persons for posts requiring special or professional qualifications either locally or from abroad."
(There follows the recommendations of the Commission for posts up to Rs.7,200.)
"It cannot be denied that the lower ranks of the local Civil Service have been generously treated and I believe that they cordially acknowledge the fact. The total now paid for personal emoluments of officials who receive not more than Rs.6,000 a year amounts to Rs.4,034,000 as compared with Rs.2,453,000 in 1915-16. This increase is very large but it not incommensurate with the altered conditions of life now prevalent all over the world.
***I now forward the proposals made by the Salaries Commission for improvement of the upper ranks of the Civil Service.
"It will be noted that the rates of salaries now recoin- mended for the various offices are based not on the present cost of living nor on the purchasing power of the rupee but as the salaries which in the Commission's opinion should be attached to the different posts in view of the work and responsibilities involved therein and in order to attract suitable candidates for these posts in the future.' ''
It is abundantly evident from the above extracts
(1) That the salaries of the Civil Servants up to Rs.6,000 have been increased on the sole consideration of an increase in the cost of living and of the high level of salaries being paid outside the Civil Service.
(2) That for the higher posts the Salaries Commission has made the relative importance of the office their main con- sideration for the increase of salaries.
We have already seen that the posts up to Rs.6,000 had been increased by 100 to 300 per cent., whilst the higher posts had been increased by 25 to 75 per cent.
In these circumstances we consider that if the salaries of the Civil Service are to be reduced at all such reduction should be in the shape of a flat rate.
An incremental scale of reduction on the increased rates would cause undue hardship in the higher posts of the Service as the rate of increase of these salaries has been much less than that of the lower ranks of the Service.
198
The cost of living in Mauritius has been steadily going down during the past years.
Rents have considerably diminished, whilst servants' wages, cost of transport, and the price of most necessaries has gone down to pre-war figures.
1.
The following Cost of Living Table by the Government Statistician was published in the Government Gazette of the 16th of January, 1932.
Cost of Living.
Index numbers for the Quarter ending 31st December, 1931. (Prices given are the means of highest and lowest.)
Articles.
Prices.
Indez Numbers.
1914.
October to December, 1931.
Foodstuffs.
Rs. Ca.
Rs. Ca.
31
Rice, good quality (W) per bag 75 kilos
ration (W) Dholl, Urhur (W) Ration (W) (W) Lentil, Red
Black (W)
16.00
13.75
12.25
10-50
86 78
1
11
16.60
15-12
91
H
19
12.70
11.76/
93
16.90
13.58
80
17
"
12.70
10.83
85
11
"1
Beans
(W)
16.00
12-83
80
"
Flour, Australian (W) Indian (W)
9.75
6-71
69
"
"
9.20
6.92
76
11
10
Milk
(W) per bottle
0.10
0.13
130
Oil Olive
(W)
12 bottles
30.00
24.00
80
1
Pistachio
11
(W) »
100 lb.
33.00
46.42
141
Tea Coffee
(W)
1 lb.
1.30
1-25
98
(W)
100 lb.
42.00
28.53
68
Salt Beef
(W) 17
300 lb.
120.00
139-33
118
Salt Pork Butter
(W)
200 lb.
85.00
122-50*
144
1
(W)
1-2 kilo
1.25
1-18
94
100 lb.
62.00
31.00
50
European (W)
75-00
61.67
82
"
Fresh Meat
(W) 1-2 kilo
0.36
0.40
111
Clothing.
(R) per dozen
18-56
25.00
135
Boots
(R) pair
9.00
6.60
73
....
Serge
(R) ell
9.50
7-67
81
"
Hats, Straw Calico
++
(R) dozen
33.58
28.33
84
(R) ell
0-26
0.55
212
Printe
(R)
0-38
0.92
242
"
Moleskins
(R)
0.40
1-50
375
19 "
Regatta
(R)
0.37
0-69
187
服务
..
* Chinese.
Lard, Madagascar (W)
Shirts
1
PUBLIC PECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TULITT buddhialC.O.882/12
BF ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-|
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO.
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON,
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.