1960 White Paper, "reflects the interests of both the officers and
the Government concerned." The offices have clearly not been
abandoned.
The Joint Declaration provides that expatriate officers may remain in service with terms and conditions no less favourable
than before and the scheme adds a considerable further incentive.
It is true that no special provision has been made for those who
choose to give up their career in 1997 but since 1988 their terms
have allowed them to leave service early and to receive a deferred
pension at normal retirement age. Any enhancement to this, such as the immediate payment of pension, would be likely to encourage officers to leave Hong Kong service, as indeed it did in other territories where this provision applied.
326. Ideally, we ought to consult the staff associations before we
consult the Chinese. But in view of the hostile reception our
proposals are likely to receive, it would probably be unwise to do
so. We will therefore need to inform the staff associations after
we have cleared our lines with the Chinese. A Ministerial visit to
Hong Kong might offer the best opportunity to do this. We cannot
call on or rely on HKG to assist us in this. They will wish to
divorce themselves from any scheme, because of the devisiveness that
their participation could create. However we do need to be aware if
HMOCS members take "industrial action" this would have a direct
impact on HKG.
Timing of announcement
22. We cannot afford to delay announcement of the scheme much
longer. Pressure among HMOCS and other expatriate officers in Hong Kong for an early decision is growing. As the Chief Secretary, Sir David Ford, emphasised when he came to see me recently, this pressure is particularly strong among the expatriate police officers on contract terms who will have to decide very soon whether to
transfer to pensionable terms.
WEDABH/12
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.