TNAG-2668-FCO40-3865-Hong-Kong-Civil-Service-1993 — Page 168

(d)

(e)

(f)

the policy is wrong because it creates unnecessary friction between employees of different races and is thus bad for public service morale and efficiency;

the policy is wrong because the Government unnecessarily loses the valuable and varied experience of employees whose origin is elsewhere than Hong Kong; and

the policy is wrong because Hong Kong people moving to other countries suffer no such employment discrimination in those other countries.

The Association accepts the force of the argument that if a permanent resident of Hong Kong is available to be hired on local terms of service to fill a post, then it is reasonable to ask a non-permanent resident in that post to make way for him. This is consistent with the intent of short service contracts to fill a temporary need.

However, if the person in the post is himself a permanent resident, he should be given the opportunity to stay in the post on local terms of service. The cost of terms of service are the same to Government. Indeed, the Government will save the many costs and inefficiencies involved in replacing one member of staff with another.

Despite the evident force of our arguments and the inherent simplicity of the issue, if it is not possible to make an immediate change to the policy,

to discontinue applying the policy until a we urge you

review has been completed. A simple mechanism for doing this would be to extend the agreements of all officers who have been given notice of non-renewal if the officer indicates a willingness to continue employment on local terms. If the current policy is ultimately revised as we suggest, the officer will not be lost to the service. If the policy is revised in a different way, other arrangements can then still be put to the officer.

There is another reason why the Government should immediately suspend the localisation policy until the review is completed. When the courts determine that the present non-renewal of contracts contrávenes the Bill of Rights, the Government will be liable to pay damages to all persons wrongfully deprived of continued employment... It is merely prudent public service management to put a hold on such a financially risky policy.

We

We look forward to a prompt response to our request for a meeting. believe that we can usefully contribute to the development of a solution that should be acceptable to all interested parties.

Yours faithfully,

Pothariffey

Royston A. Griffey President.

Cc: SNEOA HKCCSA

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