Sessional_Paper_1929 — Page 83

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Heads of Enquiry.

I. Adequacy of existing scales of salaries.

21. We propose to follow the order in which salaries are dealt with in the Estimates, but we desire to emphasise the claim of employees receiving less than $20 a month to primary consideration of their position should it be necessary to fix an order of priority.

22. We have not overlooked the important bearing that any increase in the pay of persons of this class must have on the general labour market. We apprehend that, normally, Government, which after all is spending the money of the taxpayer, should not compete with the private employer and pay wages higher than the standard rate. But this rule, must, in its application, be subject to one important limitation: that the standard rate must not be below a figure which will enable a labourer to live decently.

We have throughout our enquiry considered only salary scales and have made no recommendations regarding labourers on daily wages which, in our opinion, must depend solely on the market rate.

23. We think, after a careful consideration of the evidence of a large number of witnesses of this class, that the lowest wage paid to a labourer in Government employ should be $12 a month although in most cases we have recommended a commencing wage of $13 a month. This compares favourably with wages paid by private employers. In many cases men stated quite frankly that they had entered Government service because they improved their position by doing so, and they were fully alive to the advantage which greater security of continued employment gave them.

24. These labourers are already entitled to free quarters or an allowance in lieu thereof in accordance with General Order No. 110A. para. 2. We were impressed by the advantage accruing to the employee who is able to obtain free married quarters; and to the single employee housed in barracks where the numbers messing together resulted in an appreciable reduction in the average cost of living. The hardest case of all is that of the married employee who is required to occupy single quarters, is unable to join a mess, and thus has to support two separate establishments. This subject is more fully dealt with in connection with quarters and rent allowances generally and we would only remark here that we consider that the Government should, wherever possible, pro- vide free married quarters to all employees of this class with over six years' service.

25. Government has already provided for increments of salary to this class of employee by the system of good conduct allowances in accordance with General Order No. 30 (3) which reads as follows :—

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"Good Conduct Allowances at the rate of $12 a year may be granted to subordinate officers on fixed salaries without increments after each com- pleted term of three years' satisfactory service, provided that the total of such allowance shall not at any time exceed the amount of the officer's. basic salary".

Our view is, however, that stated increments after defined periods of service, should take the place of Good Conduct Allowances and we recommend that Good Con- duct Allowance cease and be replaced by increments of $12 per annum after 3, 6, 9 and 12 years respectively. We consider a system that permits an employee of this class to double his salary even after a long period of years as inadvisable. Where, however, wages on the maximum of the scale recommended by us are less than the aggregate of the Good Conduct Allowances and the existing wage we consider that a personal allow- ance should be granted to the individual concerned to make up the deficiency.

26. We have been struck by one fact that comes out very clearly in the evidence, and that is the importance which labourers on the lowest grades of salary attach to the almost invariable practice of Chinese private employers in giving a bonus at China New Year. We realise that a recommendation that Government should adopt a similar prac- tice savours of heterodoxy. But we are satisfied that if it is possible to give effect to our views on this subject, the concession would be greatly appreciated.