SECRET
THE TIMING OF A DECISION
8.
Pressure among HMOCS officers in Hong Kong for an early decision is growing. The Hong Kong Government have given those Police officers at present on contract terms until the end of March 1989 to decide whether to transfer to pensionable terms (ie to membership of HMOCS). This deadline has already been extended twice. And if a decision cannot be reached in time we may have to ask the Governor to extend it again. This will cause increasing unhappiness: the officers concerned argue with justification that they cannot properly exercise the option to transfer to pensionable terms until they know whether there will be a General Compensation Scheme. provisions of the 1960 White Paper envisage discussion with staff associations before any scheme is put into place.
9.
The
Failure to announce a Scheme soon, or worse still an announcement that there will be no scheme at all, would have a serious effect on the morale of expatriate officers. This would be particularly marked in the police force, which will have a key role to play in the maintenance of order in the run up to the change of sovereignty in 1997. Our ability to retain expatriate staff in the years up to 1997 would be seriously weakened. We would rightly be accused of not facing up to our responsibilities towards the territory at a time when there is a crucial need to preserve confidence and stability.
SECRET
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