Sessional_Paper_1948 — Page 24

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have additional responsibilities while acting as Assistant Superintendent, he would not be eligible for any acting pay under the provisions of General Order 90 (2) (a). The salary scheme we are recommending will involve in certain cases overlapping between grades and we recommend that where an officer in a lower grade acts in a higher grade for thirty days continuously and during that time in the opinion of the Governor has definitely increased responsibilities, but is at present ineligible under General Order 90 (2) (a) for any acting pay, specific rates of acting pay should be devised and laid down.

55. On this understanding we recommend the abolition of all charge allowances. Certain officers in the Education Department are, however, at present drawing charge allowances while working as headmasters of Govern- ment schools. We agree that headmasters should receive remuneration over and above that of a master or assistant master and have considered the possibility of a special scale for headmasters. The Director of Education has however represented to us that a special scale would be undesirable since schools are of varying sizes, and a special grade would limit his freedom in transferring officers from one school to another in varying capacities. We recommend, therefore, that a non-pensionable headmaster's allowance should be granted to officers below the rank of senior master who are in charge of schools at the rate of $100 per month for small schools and $150 per month for large schools. Mistresses and assistant mistresses should similarly receive a headmistress' allowance of $80 per month for small schools and $120 for large schools.

ALLOWANCES TO TUTOR SISTERS

56. We recommend the payment of a non-pensionable allowance at the rate of $60 per month to members of the Nursing Staff who are qualified teachers and are engaged on tutorial duties as Tutor Sisters.

OVERTIME AND CHINESE NEW YEAR BONUS

57. The General Orders defining the conditions under which overtime may be paid appear to be unnecessarily vague and to require redrafting. Although under General Order 39 the entire time of public officers is stated to be at the disposal of Government, General Order 102 states that payment for overtime may be made in special cases which fall outside the ordinary discretion of the Head of a Department. No attempt is made to define the ordinary discretion of a Head of Department. We recommend the adoption of the following principles:-

(i) Payment of overtime may not be claimed as of right, because the whole time of public servants is at the service of the Government. (ii) Notwithstanding (i) above the payment of overtime may be made at the rates from time to time laid down where officers eligible therefor on instructions from a superior officer have worked for more than forty-eight hours in any one week and where the Head of Department certifies that such additional work was necessary.

(iii) Overtime will not be payable to the following categories of officers :-

(a) Professional, administrative and senior executive and technical

officers.

(b) Officers of departments where continuous duty is ensured by a system of shifts and where time-off is given in compen- sation for hours worked in excess of forty-eight hours in any one week.

(iv) Overtime will be payable at the rate of one hundredth of an officer's monthly basic salary per hour of approved overtime worked, subject to a maximum hourly rate of $6 per hour.

58. We do not consider that staff receiving Chinese New Year bonus should be excluded from the receipt of payments for overtime. We recommend that Chinese New Year bonus should be retained, but should not be extended beyond the classes covered by the present General Order.

TRAVELLING And SubsistenCE ALLOWANCE IN THE UNited Kingdom

59. We recommend that officers on study leave or on duty in the United Kingdom should receive a refund of their travelling expenses and payment of subsistence allowance on the same conditions and at the rates for the time being approved by H.M. Treasury for civil servants of comparable status in the United Kingdom.