Between 1st January and 31st August 1976, a total of ninety Shorthand-Audio Typists left the grade - only five of them were transferred to the Personal Secrotary Grade. The high wastage roflects the fact that the conditions of service of the Grade fail to provide good inventive and meaningful career salary to members in the Grade. The failure to provide stability and continuity of employment to the Shorthand-Audio Typists and to furnish them with adequate facilities for advancement outlets, is contrary to the principle of good employers.
SALARY STRUCTURE FOR THE NEW STENOGRAPHER GRADE
In early 1976, at the initial stage of the exercise for the restructuring of the Secrotarial Class in the civil service of Hong Kong, a special survey was conducted by the Pay Investigation Unit of the work and pay of secretaries, stonographers and typists in private sector as at April 1, 1976, and this information was used by the Committee on Secretarial Class in its recommendation for new salaries structures for those grades in the Secretarial Class.
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The median of salary for a Shortland-Audio Typist produced by the Pay Investigation Unit Report was HK$1,155–
and the upper quartile was $1,781 The salary scale set by the 1976 Restructuring was one of HK 855 1735.
It is omphasized by the Priestley Report that the Civil Service rate should be not lower than the median but not above the upper quartile.
An in-depth study into the said Report revealed that it was not a comprehensive and accurate paper as it intended to be especially on the items of remunerations of Shorthand- Audio Typists in the private sector. A number of inaccurate figures and discrepancies were detected. For details, please soe comments on the Pay Investigation Unit Report 1976 at Annex " A
In response to a challenge from the Secretary for the Civil Service, the staff-side presented evidence contained in the Salary Trends and Fringe Benefits 1975-76 published by the Productivity Centre which produced a median of
ity HK 1254 - 2117.
The Pay Investigation Unit was set up within the Government Secretariat in the Colony of Hong Kong to provide comparisons in pay and conditions of service between posts in Government and in the private sector. Albeit the Unit claims to be an independant body, members of the Unit are civil servants under the Secretary for the Civil Service and for obvious reasons, departure from the influence of the Secretary is far from possible.
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