CO129-599-5 Salaries Commission- Appendices to Report 1-1-1947 - 31-12-1949 — Page 11

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will arise when the recommendations are finally approved, for not only will it be

necessary to work out the point in the new scale at hich the officer should enter,

but there will also be the work of determining what particular officers should

enter new grades and what deduction, if any, should be made of increments in the

case of officers whose knowledge or skill does not qualify them for conversion

according to the strict rule. Until the rules for conversion have been worked

out in detail I regret it is impossible to prepare tables showing the precise

effect of the new scales on cach individual officer, which I should have liked

to include as an enclosure to this despatch. I have instead had prepared a short

2 table which gives this information for a number of typical instances.

Encl.

18.

The extent to which allowances have been incorporated in the new scalos

will no doubt evoke the familiar human trait on the part of officers concerned of

wanting the best of both worlds; they will no doubt attempt to obtain the advantago

of the now scales and to preserve the old allowances as well. It will therefore be

necessary to insist that officers accepting the new rates must do so only upon the terms on which they are offered.

19.

You will obscrve that in paragraphs 31 and 46 the Commission recommends

the incorporation of an element for rent in basic salaries by the addition thereto of

onc-sixth; but that in the latter paragraph the ceiling for economic rent is set at 16 2/3‰ This is doubtless to be explained as an oversight, the Commissioners having failed to observe that the 16 2/3 would be calculated on a new basic sal ry

equal to seven-sixths of the old, and would thus exceed the amount which had been

added to basic salary for that very purpose. I propose therefore that action on

paragraph 46 of the Report shall be taken as though the words "16 2/3% in line 36 and one sixth" in line 46 of page 22 had read "14 2/7% and

"P

one seventh" respective-

ly.

20.

I am assured that there is reason to believe that the recommendations

of the Malayan Salaries Commission will not differ materially in essentials from

those of the Hong Kong Commission. You are aware in this connection that the

Chairman of the Hong Kong Commission and Mr. T. Megarry visited Malaya and had opportunities of discussing common problems.

21.

Chapters VII and VIII of the Report envis.ge the provision of better facilitics for tre ning local aspirants to a career in the Government service in

future and the establishment of a Public Services Commission. Proposals of this