Sessional_Paper_1948 — Page 38

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deck staff in the Police and Fire Brigade should be under the general control of the Harbour Master and should be appointed and trained by him and seconded as required to other departments.

POST OFFICE, TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND BROADCASTING

130. For the reasons given in paragraph 86 we recommend that there should in future be no separate establishment of postal clerks, but that postal clerks should in future be members of the General Clerical Service and be liable to be transferred to other departments. Similarly, clerks from other depart- ments should be liable to be transferred to the Post Office.

131. We recommend that assistant wireless engineers and wireless engineers should be on the same rates of pay as assistant engineers and engineers in the Public Works Department. We propose for the Senior Wireless Engineer the same salary scale as for an executive engineer.

132. We propose that wireless telegraphists should be divided into three grades and should be on a scale similar to that for the Clerical Service, but commencing at $1,920 per annum and rising to $3,300 per annum. Promotion from grade III to grade II and from grade II to grade I should depend upon vacancies occurring. We propose that the salary scale for grade I should be from $5,400 per annum to $6,720 per annum.

133. There are at present wireless technicians on both sterling and dollar scales. We propose that locally recruited officers should commence as assistant wireless technicians grade II on a salary scale running from $2,400 per annum to $3,300 per annum. These officers in the past were on scales similar to those for the Junior Clerical Service, but since a Postmaster-General's Certificate in wireless telegraphy is required in addition to practical experience, we consider that a higher entry point than for clerks is justified. We consider that there should be a promotion bar between assistant wireless technicians grade II and grade I. Officers in grade I should be considered on their merits for promotion to wireless technician as vacancies occur.

AIR SERVICES

134. Our recommendations for the salary of the Director of Air Services are based on our estimate of this officer's present responsibilities, but they may require revision when the scheme for a larger airport is put into operation. We recommend that he should be assisted by a Deputy Director who should also be Airport Manager in charge of operational and administrative work at the airport. We further recommend that the titles of several of the other officers in this Department should be altered to conform with the nomenclature suggested at the recent Colonial Aviation Conference.

135. We propose that the Airport Signals Officer should be of the same qualifications and on the same salary scale as a wireless engineer and that he should be assisted by technical staff of similar grades and on similar salaries to those in the Telecommunications Branch of the Post Office. We consider that the duties of the Airport Signals Supervisor are likely to be more exacting and would call for a greater degree of responsibility than those of a grade I wireless telegraphist in the Post Office and we have accordingly recommended a scale commencing at the same point as that for a grade I wireless telegraphist but proceeding to a higher maximum.

136. On the air traffic control side we realise that it will probably be necessary to recruit overseas officers for the senior posts as long as locally trained candidates are not available. As this branch of the Department is a result of recent developments, and no serving officers are available for promotion it will be necessary to recruit an overseas officer as an air traffic control officer grade I. The scale we propose runs from $12,000 per annum to $16,320 per annum. The lower end of this scale overlaps the scale suggested for air traffic control officers grade II. In due course when air traffic control is well estab- lished, promotions to grade I vacancies will probably be made from grade II. In that event the promotion bar between the two scales will have to be moved to $14,160 per annum. Air traffic control officers will be assisted by air traffic control supervisors whom it should be possible to recruit and train locally. We propose that these officers should have obtained as a minimum qualification the Hong Kong School Leaving Certificate and must have had satisfactory experience in airport or airline work. They will be eligible in due course after obtaining the necessary experience and training for promotion to the air traffic control officer grades. We propose a similar salary scheme for airport officers and airport supervisors.

137. We recommend that the fire engine drivers at the airport should be selected and given their initial training by the Chief Officer, Fire Brigade, and that they should receive the same pay and allowances as fire engine drivers in the Fire Brigade,