TNAG-0992-FCO40-1211-Policy-on-salaries-and-pensions-for-civil-service-in-Hong-Ko-1980 — Page 82

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CONFIDENTIAL

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STANDING COMMISSION ON CIVIL SERVICE SALARIES AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

Our Ref. SC6/cos/5APt II

The Honourable Sir Jack Cater, K.B.E., J.P.,

Chief Secretary

Room 1322,

Prince's Building, Chater Road,

Hong Kong.

12 November 1980

Dear Sir Jack,

Report No. 5

Married Female Staff

Thank you for your letter of 31 October 1980 informing

me of the Administration's intentions with regard to the Commission's proposals in respect of fringe benefits for married female staff. I have now had the opportunity to discuss your letter with the Commission and I am writing to convey our further views on this matter.

We have re-examined our recommendation and after careful consideration we re-affirm our view, expressed in paragraph 8.11 of Report No. 5, that "as a matter of principle married female staff should have the same eligibility for fringe benefits as their male counterparts". Furthermore, we still believe that this is a social issue in which the Government should be prepared to take the lead.

We are disappointed that the Administration is unable to support our recommendation, at least in principle. However, we are glad to know that initially it is prepared to propose that in future male and female staff should be equal in terms of their eligibility for fringe benefits so far as they themselves are concerned. In this connection we suggest that your proposals should be extended to provide full fringe benefits for married female officers and their immediate families in the following circumstances :

(a) where both husband and wife are civil servants, we

believe that they should be allowed to opt either for the husband's or the wife's entitlement to fringe benefits;

(b) with regard to paragraph 4 of your letter, we consider that "the extension of benefits to the husband and dependent children in exceptional compassionate circumstances or on grounds of public interest" should be further extended to cover any case where it can be established that the wife is and will remain the sole provider for the family.

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