TNAG-2091-FCO40-2977-Royal-Hong-Kong-Police-Force-1990 — Page 35

Mr. Peter Bottomley

The Right Honourable

Member of Parliament for Eltham

The House of Commons

London SW1A OAA

England, United Kingdom

19th December, 1989

Dear Sir,

I am a

ama

serving on the pensionable establishment of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force. As an overseas or "expatriate" officer I am a member of Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HKOCS). For some years now individual officers and police staff associations have been seeking the answers to questions which have considerable bearing on their future career planning and also concern the security and livelihood of their families. Most regrettably, all attempts to get a satisfactory response through the established consultative machinery which officers are bound by regulations to use, have met with evasive and uninformative responses. The Sino-British Joint Declaration was initialled on 26th September 1984 and there would appear to be every reason now to speed up arrangements made necessary by the change of sovereignty in 1997 to cater for members of HMOCS serving in Hong Kong. Morale amongst HMCS officers has been seriously affected by the apparent lack of arrangements made for them by HMG for the change of sovereignty in 1997.

n over sovereignty of previous

Normally, the decision to British colonies involved the promul t on of a Public Officers' Agreement which arranged for the early retirer t of HMOCS members serving in the affected territory either with compe..sation for loss of career or provision of alternative equivalent employment in another Colony or in the UK Civil Service. Such agreements also made arrangements for officers' pensions which protected officers against default by the new government of the former British Colony or against an unfavourable fall in the exchange rate of the currency in which pensions were paid.

Until September 1984 we were advised to be patient, thereafter there has been no news of substance causing concern and considerable worry and stress amongst officers and their families. Simply put the decision to hand Hong Kong back to China has been made five years ago, there is no excuse for not having issued by this time a Public Officers' Agreement outlining to HMOCS officers arrangements for them in 1997.

/I.

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