CO129-558-8 Revision of salaries 19-8-1936 - 11-2-1937 — Page 104

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difficulty in obtaining alternative employment. Thus any permanent deteriorations in the attractions which the Service offers would be accompanied by a definite risk of loss in the quality of the candidates coming forward. Moreover, any reduction in the terms laid down for the Administrative Staff would inevitably have to be reflected in a scaling down of the terms offered in respect of other branches of the service, recruitment for which is not on so satisfactory a footing and might be even more seriously prejudiced.

A review of these considerations suggests that there are only

two alternative courses which can safely be adopted:-

(1) To maintain the present conditions of service in substance for the time being, and to effect any necessary savings by way of measures which are definitely of a temporary character; or

(2) To devise new permanent conditions which, while if possible representing a saving in the total of Government expenditure, will be in such a form that, taking one consideration with another, the attrac- tions of the Service will not be diminished.

If the latter alternative is practicable, there is much to be said in its favour, especially if the matter can be dealt with as part of a scheme of real unification. It cannot be too strongly emphasised, however, that in considering a question of this kind it is necessary to take a long view, and to base decisions upon fundamental principles. Thus, any scale of salary must be such as, upon a reasonable estimate in the light of such evidence as is available, satisfies the following conditions:-

(1) It must provide an initial rate of pay which will enable an unmarried officer to live within his means in conditions suitable to his rank.

(2) It must place the officer in a position to marry and to enter into normal family commitments at a reasonably early period of his life.

(3) It must provide a definite prospect of reaching a salary at which the officer can take his natural place in the world, provide for the education of his children and meet his social and domestic obligations.

(4) It must be so co-ordinated with the pension system as to enable the officer to earn, after a normal career in the Service, an adequate retiring allowance.

(5) Generally, it must be a scale which, taken in conjunction with the other conditions of service, will compare favourably enough with the attractions offered by other professions and businesses to secure a sufficient supply of candidates with the necessary qualifications.

Past experience justified the expectation that the original unification scheme satisfied these essential requirements and no evidence is forthcoming which would support the view that in principle the scheme is in any way too generous. But if practical considerations absolutely pre- clude the acceptance of the scale as it stands, there are strong arguments in favour of the view that any reduction should be confined to the lower end of the scale, provided always that a clear assurance can be given that the first of the conditions enumerated above is fulfilled, and that there is no danger of an officer who wisely arranges his affairs becoming financially embarrassed during his early years. In order, moreover, that the other conditions may be fulfilled, it is desirable that there should be some adjustment of increments so that, while on the whole the scheme may represent a saving in Government expenditure as compared with existing scales, the point at which the officer reaches a salary on which he can live as a married man is not substantially postponed.