TNAG-2669-FCO40-3866-Hong-Kong-Civil-Service-1993 — Page 7

SECRET

XCX(93)35

Proposed Changes

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The crux of the problem with the existing policy lies in not permitting any change from overseas to local terms of appointment even when an overseas officer has become a permanent resident. Any change we make must not only be logical and practical but also compatible with the BOR and the Basic Law, defensible before Legislative Council, the public and staff associations, and explicable to the Chinese.

24

We have considered the possibility of requiring all overseas contract officers to switch to local terms once they become eligible to acquire permanent resident status. This has certain attractions. In particular it would guard against the possibility that some overseas officers might seek to remain on their present terms of service (which are more favourable particularly in terms of leave and passage entitlements) until threatened by localisation and only then switch to local terms. On the other hand compulsory transfer to local terms has a major disadvantage. The number of transferees would be high (probably in the region of 700 - 800) and this would incite certainly the local staff associations and probably the Chinese as well.

25

It accordingly seems more sensible to give overseas agreement officers who are permanent residents an option to apply for transfer to local terms when they fulfil certain conditions. If they do not exercise this option or are not successful in their application, they will remain on overseas terms and be subject to localisation.

Conditions of Transfer

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The usual conditions for employment, i.e. service need, satisfactory conduct and performance and physical fitness, will be imposed on transfers from overseas terms to local terms.

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Ideally we would have liked to offer local agreement terms to the transferees only if such terms are already available to local officers in the same grade, and to offer local pensionable terms to transferees if local agreement terms are not available. This is because allowing overseas officers to transfer to local agreement terms in grades where these terms are not currently on offer (e.g. the Police) will only invite claims for similar treatment from existing local officers. If we went down this road we would undermine the career-long service ethic which we wish to preserve, certainly in key grades, at this sensitive time.