CO129-569-7 Revision of salaries 6-7-1938 - 11-10-1938 — Page 104

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101.

Education Service, the European masters have submitted

a petition to you which I am transmitting in a separate

despatch with my comments.

3.

Strong representations were made by the

European Civil Servants' Council as well as by certain

individual Heads of Departments against the proposal

made in the course of the revision of General Order

No. 117, dealing with rent for quarters and rent

allowances, that existing lodging allowances should be

curtailed and a 10% limit put to rent allowances which

would have the effect of reducing such allowances

considerably in the case of officers on the lower ranges

of salary. (See paragraph 9 of Report). Some

revision of the present system of allowances in these

respects had been in contemplation for some time; but

the Committee's proposals on this matter are not

necessarily bound up with the solution of the difficulties

arising out of the introduction of the new scales and I

am prepared to believe that some hardship might be caused

by the curtailment of allowances already in operation,

particularly in present circumstances, when housing

accommodation is extremely scarce.

Discussions on this

matter are still proceeding with the European Civil

Servants' Council and I recommend that the proposed

modifications in the rent and lodging allowances, in so

far as they affect serving officers on the old "6%" terms,

should be held in abeyance pending further consideration.

I will address you further at a later date when I have

decided what part, if any, of the proposed modifications

should come into operation. Meanwhile the new General