TNAG-0991-FCO40-1210-Policy-on-salaries-and-pensions-for-civil-service-in-Hong-Ko-1980 — Page 235

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(b)

Since the voluntary agencies are subvented on a "discretionary grant" basis to provide financial assistance towards the cost of specific activities which are considered worthy of Government support, there is no financial commitment on the part of the Government to maintain the salaries of such staff in the voluntary sector at any particular level (although, since 1976/77, the Government has given supplementary subventions to social welfare voluntary agencies to enable them to pay salary increases in line with those given to the

Civil Service as a whole by way of cost of living adjustments).

(c) The structural and salary changes in SWD were the result of a comprehensive staff review in 1977 and 1978 to identify and resolve certain structural problems facing SWD. The revised salary scales for SWD staff were brought about mainly by providing separate staff structures for "social security" and "social work" streams and by re-organising duties at various levels. Since these changes were not salary adjustments to take account of the cost of living, they could not apply automatically to the voluntary sector without a similar review of the staff structures in the voluntary sector being carried out.

(d)

(e)

The Director of Social Welfare (DSW) and representatives of the voluntary sector agreed at a meeting on 18 January that a review would be carried out in accordance with the principles adopted for the SWD review. Following further consultation with the voluntary sector, the machinery for conducting the review was agreed. A Steering Committee, assisted by a Working Group, was established by DSW on 1 February, with representatives largely nominated or elected by the voluntary sector themselves, and has since come into full operation.

It is impossible

The size of the review machinery must be kept reasonably small if it is to carry out the task smoothly and expeditiously. for every individual organisation concerned (there are many) to be represented on the Steering Committee. Since the voluntary sector had nominated or elected their own representatives

to sit on the Steering Committee (and the Working Group), the Union's request to be

represented on the Steering Committee was rejected, together with similar requests from various other organisations. The Union was told on 9 February by DSW that it was free to make

/representations