CO129-568-10 Government Marine Surveyors- petition for increase in salary 30-12-1937 - 6-11-1939 — Page 2

CP.

P.

M

1.

(See Table B

enclosure

No. 4.)

(See enclosure to 2 on 53723/37)

(See enclosure to 1 and minutes on 72797/30)

Joo.

468

Irs. of representations made and

comments generally

30 19.३५.

2

The Government Marine Surveyors of Hong

Kong petition for increased salaries, and in support

of their petition they submit a table of comparisons

salaries

with both Malayayand with the revised salaries in

Hong Kong as compared with salaries of similar

officers in the United Kingdom.

For the reasons given in the despatch,

namely that exact calculation of such factors is

impossible in practice, owing to the many differences

in other conditions of employment between the various

grades in Hong Kong and those selected as corres-

ponding grades in the United Kingdom, the conclusions

do not deduced from this table by the Marine Surveyors seem

to me to be altogether valid. On the other hand,

they appear to be underpaid, both by comparison with

Marine Surveyors elsewhere and with e.g., Engineers

of the Public Works Department in Hong Kong. The

revised salary scales for the latter are £545 to

£950 a year, with Executive Engineers on the scale

£1,000 to £1,150. The present scale for Government

Marine Surveyors is £550 to £825. It should be

noted that the average age of recruitment for this

Service is 33. The scale now suggested by the

Surveyors is £700 to £1,150, with Senior Assistants

on the scale £1,200 to £1,300.

When salaries generally in Hong Kong were

revised in 1930 the Marine Surveyors forwarded a

petition for increased emoluments, and it was

considered here that they appeared to have a very

fair case for more favourable treatment, but that

in view of the financial stringency of the Colony,

and the lack of support given to their claims by

the Governor, it was felt that we should not

interfere.

The Governor now considers that there

may