CO129-599-2 Salaries Commission- 1947 Report 1-1-1947 - 31-12-1949 — Page 14

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16.

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applicable to locally recruited staff, even though there may, for the time being, be grades in which few or no locally recruited officers are in fact serving.

(iii) In fixing these basic salaries regard should

be paid to the relevant circumstances, such as the ruling income levels in those classes of the community from which the public service is or will be recruited.

(iv) Where the salaries so fixed are insufficient

to attract and retain officers from overscas, expatriation pay should be provided for such officers.

(v)

The practice of providing free quarters for certain classes of officers should be discontinued where it exists."

We decided at an early stage in our

discussions that in view of the policy outlined above we would recommend that in future all salaries and emoluments payable to public officers in Hong Kong should be expressed in Hong Kong currency, and that the existing distinction between sterling end dollar paid officers should be done away with. The salaries recommended in the Schedules to this Report are all expressed in Hong Kong dollars, although the sterling equivalents have been included for purposes of comparison with existing scales. In making our recommendations we have taken the exchange value of the Hong Kong dollar at 1/3d.

17.

Je are in agreement with the policy set out in White Paper Colonial No. 197 that the post-war salary structure in Hong Kong should be built up on the basis of rates of pay applicable to locally recruited staff and it is with this policy in mind that we have framed our recommendations. e have, wherever possible, designed an avenue of promotion for locally recruited staff up to the highest levels in the public service through grades in which they can obtain the necessary training and experience. At the same time we realise that it will be necessary to retain in the service officers from overseas and to recruit others until such time as facilities for the education and training of local officers are much more complete than they are at present. We have accordingly made provision for expatriation pay for such non-local officers as it will be essential to retain or to recruit in future from abroad.

Restriction of Recommendations to monthly paid staff.

18.

Although paragraph (i) of our terms of reference instructs us "to consider and submit recommendations for the revision of the salaries and emoluments and conditions of service of all public officers in Hong Kong", we have decided to make no recommendations regarding the emoluments of daily paid workers. We consider that the present arrangements which were made during the Military Administration, in consultation with the leading private employers for the remuneration of daily paid workers · these are