CO129-612-2 Police Department- petition from European memebers of Inspectorate 29-1-1948 - 22-7-1949 — Page 40

40

This is not so in the Col· Service

FR?

3.

(1)

in this, their last main point, the

petitioners ask for the restoration of their former pension rights and conditions.

Under the former pension terms a police inspector could earn a full pension in 25 years service whereas under the pension rules now to be applied to the Police, it will take 333 years to earn the maximum pension. The reasons for this change are explained in the Governor's comments on paragraph.18 of the petition and, as he points out, the less favourable rate at which the petitioners' service will now count is offset by the pensionable element for rent included in their revised basic pay and also by the increase in their pensionable emoluments due to the introduction of expatriation pay. In all cases pensions on the revised terms will be greater than would have been payable on the old terms and all the petitioners have lost is the advantage of a relatively more favourable pension fraction compared with service generally. They retain the right to retire at age 45; it is true that now they can also be required to retire at that age but this is a new provision introduced for the service as a whole and the police suffer no greater disadvantage than any other government servant.

Subject to C. S.D.'s views on the claim that a police officer's more exacting conditions of service are generally recognised by granting him a more favourable pension fraction, I can see no reason for restoring to the petitioners the enjoyment of their previous pension terms.

There remain the following representations in the petition not covered in paragraph 2(a) - (f) above:-

(i)

(ii)

that the revised terms should commence

from 1.5.46 instead of 1.1.47,

that salaries should revert to a sterling basis if the Hong Kong dollar ceases to be linked with sterling,

(iii) that officers lose up to 3 increments on converting to the revised scale.

These points are dealt with in the Governor's comments on paragraphs 12(b), 22 and 23 of the petition. I have nothing to add to what he said about them and I do not think that in replying to the petition we need refer to them specifically.

4. To recapitulate, I think His Majesty should be advised that the replies to the main points (a) to (f)

in

Page 40Page 41