TNAG-0916-FCO40-1127-Policy-on-salaries-and-pensions-for-civil-servants-in-Hong-K-1979 — Page 110

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have therefore considered whether there is any other means of regulating civil service pay which would be fair to civil servants yet still meet the test of public acceptability. Among the suggestions made to us is that civil service pay should be determined by job evaluation based on factor analysis. But while this is a useful management tool for job comparison within the civil service it must still be applied against some general yardstick. Factor analysis, i.e. the measurement of job content etc. by means of a formula, cannot alone regulate movements in pay for the civil service as a whole.

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If private sector comparability is not to provide the indicator then the only alternative which has been suggested to us is the consumer price index. However, we do not support the concept of index linked salaries. Firstly, from the point of view of the civil service, index linked salaries will not necessarily produce a real increase in the value of pay. Secondly, from the point of view of the public, civil service pay must have regard to the economic circumstances of Hong Kong as a whole. If the economy is buoyant it is right and proper that civil servants should share in the benefits. the economy is depressed it is equally right that civil servants should share the burden of any necessary measures to limit expenditure.

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If

It follows that despite its drawbacks we recommend that broad comparability with the private sector should continue to be an important factor in setting civil service pay. We believe that no other means of regulating levels of pay in general will ensure public acceptance and we consider it essential that civil service salaries do not get out of line with that sector of the economy producing the income from which they are paid. We do not, however, consider it should necessarily be the first principle, the overriding principle or the major consideration. If there is to be a first principle of civil service pay, it should be the old but well-tried principle that salaries should be sufficient to attract and retain candidates of a calibre who will provide the public with an efficient service. This principle also applies, to a more limited extent, to employment in the private sector.

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We mentioned in our Consultative Document that it appeared to us that much of the dissatisfaction with the principle of fair comparison arose from the manner in which the principle is presently implemented. The 1965 Salaries Commission made no recommendation for applying the principle, considering this to be a matter for further investigation. The 1971 Salaries Commission attempted to make suitable arrangements for applying the principle by dividing the service into occupational classes each of which they felt included a range of jobs with private sector analogues. In the event, the

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