CO129-558-3 Levy on Salaries- petition from Chinese Civil Servants 3-1-1936 - 19-12-1936 — Page 212

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2.

the salary of any officer below £240 per annum, or for those con-

tributing to Widows' and Orphans' Pension Scheme, £230.8.0d.

(i.e. £240 less 4% for Widows' and Orphans' Pension Scheme deduc -

tion.)

The levy will be applied to net salaries after deduction of

Widows and Orphans' Pension contributions.

(II) Rate of conversion for all salaries shall be $ls. 6d. in

respect of the period 1st January to 31st March. Widows' and Or-

phans' Pension Contribution must, in accordance with the urdinance

be calculated on the full sterling salary and converted at the pre-

vailing monthly Treasury rate. Advances, Home allotments and sterl-

ing refunds will similarly be converted at the prevailing Treasury

rate. The rate of exchange for conversion of salaries only will be

subject to reconsideration at the end of the first quarter.

(III) The percentages mentioned in General Order 108 (1932 edition)

will be calculated on the dollar salary due to an officer after

deduction of the levy.

(These are the percentages of salaries payable by Officers

occupying Government quarters.)

3.

Your Petitioners crave leave, before proceeding to deal with

the effect of the present levy and method of payment, to refer to

the cut to which the salaries of the sterling paid officers were

subjected in the year 1931 and the sequel thereto.

On that occasion it was ruled that one half of such salaries

should be paid at the rate of one dollar being equivalent to one

shilling and sixpence and the other half at the rate of exchange

fixed by the Treasury, which latter rate is the average opening

published demand rate of exchange on London of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation from thelath of the preceding month

to the 15th of the month for which payment is to be made.

The system so adopted entailed (vide speech of the then Governor

reported in Hansard, 1931, at page 190) "a surrender by all sterl-

ing paid officers from the Governor downwards of approximately 17%

of the dollar equivalent of the salary which they had been promised.