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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

THEEHC.O.882/11

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

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armed forces during the War of 1914-1921, or in any other capacity connected with the state of war, may be counted as service on full pay for the purpose of these regulations.

8. If any officer of the Ceylon Civil Service who received his first appointment under the post-war reconstruction scheme after serving with His Majesty's armed forces during the War of 1914-1921 shall elect to retire under Section 2 of these regulations, the period intervening between the completion of the 23rd year of his age or the date on which he began his war service (whichever is later) and the date on which he received his appointment as a Cadet shall be counted as leave on full pay for the purpose of computing the total pension grantable under these regulations. 9. In no case shall a pension granted under these regulations exceed two-thirds of the highest pensionable emoluments drawn by an officer at any time in the course of his service under the Government of Ceylon.

10. The mode of calculating awards granted under these regulations shall be that which is prescribed in Section 8 of the Minutes on Pensions for pensions or gratuities awarded under those Minutes.

11. (a) If an officer is in Ceylon when he decides to retire under Section 2 of these regulations he shall notify the Chief Secretary through the Head of his Depart- ment in writing of his decision, stating at the same time the date on which he desires to begin such leave preparatory to retirement as he may be allowed under the regula- tions of Government relating to the grant of such leave. In no case, however, unless public officer who is in the Governor for special reasons orders otherwise, shall a Ceylon when he notifies his decision to retire be permitted to retire or go on leave preparatory to retirement before three months have elapsed from the date on which the written notification of his intention to retire is received by the Chief Secretary

(b) If an officer decides to retire under Section 2 of these regulations when he is out of Ceylon on half-pay, (or commuted half-pay) leave or on combined vacation and half-pay (or commuted half-pay) leave, he shall notify the Secretary of State (or if it is more convenient the Chief Secretary) in writing of his decision, stating at the same time whether he elects that his retirement should take effect from the date on which such leave preparatory to retirement as he might have received at the commencement of his leave expired (or will expire) or whether he elects that his retirement should take effect as from the date on which his written notification is received in the Colonial Office (or the Colombo Secretariat if his notification has been addressed to the Chief Secretary). Unless it shall in any particular instance appear to the Governor contrary to the public interest, the date of retirement shall be determined in accordance with the officer's election, but if he elects the second alternative he shall be required to refund any salary in excess of half-pay which he may have drawn subsequent to the date on which such leave preparatory to retirement as he might have received at the commencement of his leave would have expired.

Provided always that, if an officer who was out of the Island on half-pay (or commuted half-pay) leave or combined vacation and half-pay (or commuted half-pay) leave on the 15th day of April, 1931, elects to retire during his leave then current, he may do so with effect either from the date on which the written notification of his decision is received in the Colonial Office (or the Secretariat if his notification has been addressed to the Chief Secretary) or from the 15th day of April, 1931, but in either case he will be required to refund any salary in excess of half-pay which he has drawn between the date on which such leave preparatory to retirement as he might have received at the commencement of his leave expired and the date on which his retire- ment takes effect.

12. Unless he shall refund the cost of the outward passage (or passages) to Ceylon granted to him and any salary in excess of half-pay drawn by him during the period subsequent to the date on which such leave preparatory to retirement as he might have been granted at the commencement of his leave would have expired, an officer returning from leave to Ceylon after the date of these regulations who decides to retire under Section 2 hereof shall not be permitted to retire or go on leave preparatory to retirement until he has served for at least one year from the date of his return. If, however, the Governor shall for special reasons so order, such an officer may be permitted to begin his leave preparatory to retirement at an earlier date and the requirement relating to the refund of half-salary and the cost of outward passages may be wholly or partially remitted according as the Governor may in any particular case determine.

13. The passage grants to an officer retiring under Section 2 of these regulations will be governed by the rules relating to passages on retirement in force at the date of the officer's retirement.

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Annexure D.

His Excellency the Governor in Executive Council has been pleased, with the approval of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, to direct that the following amend- ment be incorporated in' the Minutes on Pensions :--

After Section 2A of the Pension Minute insert the following new section:-

"2AA. Any officer entitled to retire under the provisions of Article 88 of the Ceylon (State Council) Order in Council, 1931, may, not later than the *day of

, 1931, or one month after his retirement, which- ever is earlier, exercise his option under Section 2A of these regulations if he has not already done so or revoke his option if he has already exercised it anything in that section to the contrary notwithstanding. Provided that an officer who has once exercised or revoked his option by virtue of this regulation shall be given no further opportunity to revoke or, save in accordance with the first proviso to Sub-section (2) of Section 2A of these regulations, to exercise it."

Enclosure II in No. 6.

MEMORANDUM BY THE COMMITTEE of the CIVIL SERVICE ASSOCIATION REGARDING THE TERMS OF RETIREMENT AND COMPENSATION FOR LOSS OF CAREER ARISING OUT OF THE CHANGE IN THE CONSTITUTION.

IN accordance with the permission kindly granted to us by His Excellency the Governor, the Committee of the Civil Service Association desires to put forward further representations on the subject of the terms of retirement, in the light of the proceedings at the Conference recently summoned by His Excellency and of the correspondence between Government and the Secretary of State which His Excellency has been good enough to allow the Committee to see in confidence.

2. The first point with which we wish to deal is the extent to which the Public Services in Ceylon are affected by the constitutional changes which have taken place of recent years.

At the recent Conference both the Colonial Secretary and the Colonial Treasurer expressed the view that very few public servants would be pre- judicially affected by the constitutional changes embodied in the recent Order in Council whilst many of them might find that their conditions of service had actually been improved. The Treasurer in his report to Government admitted that the terms which he recommended would be inadequate for those who were seriously affected by the new Constitution, but considered that these would be a very small minority, who must be condemned to receive less than their due in order that the majority, less seriously affected, might not receive too much. Apart from the injustice of such a proposal, the view which it represents is, we submit, not in accordance with the facts. The placing of the Services under Ministers chosen from the elected members of Council, though it may in some ways be more satisfactory than the ill-defined control which the Unofficials have exercised under the present Constitution, is, in itself, such a radical alteration of the conditions of service as to call for the grant of the right to retire with compensation for loss of career. This was the view of the Donoughmore Commission and it has been generally accepted without question. This step, however, merely gives concrete and definite form to the transfer of control from the official Government to the elected members, which was brought about under the present Constitution. Under the present Constitution there has taken place a very material change in the conditions of service of public servants in the Colony. The extent of this change was not anticipated by the Public Services, nor, we believe, by the framers of the Constitution. When the present Constitution was introduced, there was nothing tangible which could be pointed to as involving a radical alteration of conditions of service. The change which has taken place, however, has been none the less real and material. To argue therefore that because the further stage of self-Government embodied in the new Order in Council may, in some respects, not render the conditions of service of public servants worse than they had grown to be under the present Constitution, and that therefore the new Constitution affords little, if any grounds, of compensation, is to ignore the accumulated effect of the various constitutional changes and the fact that the conditions of service under the new Constitution will differ fundamentally and very materially from those obtaining under Crown Colony Government.

* The date six months after the date of the special regulations under Article 88 of the Order in Council to be inserted.