ENG-2000 — Page 54

CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

26

those representations relating to appointment, dismissal and discipline of public

servants.

The Government values regular communication and consultation with staff. There are four consultative councils at the central level: the Senior Civil Service Council, the Model Scale 1 Staff Consultative Council, the Disciplined Services Consultative Council and the Police Force Council. More than 80 consultative committees operate at the departmental level. A Civil Service Newsletter is published quarterly to provide an added link with serving and retired civil servants.

Staff commitment and contributions are recognised in various forms including appreciation letters, commendations and honours or awards. Long Service Travel Awards, Long and Meritorious Service Awards and retirement souvenirs are given to long-serving staff. A Quality Service Enhancement Award was launched in 2000 to recognise the efforts and achievements of civil servants in providing quality service to the community and to further encourage them to make continuous improvement in the standard of customer service to meet the needs of the community.

Civil Service Reform

In March 1999, the Government released the Civil Service Reform Consultation Document. The main objective was to put forward proposals to restructure the administration of the Civil Service so as to make it more flexible, and prepared to face changing and increasingly demanding challenges in the years ahead. After detailed discussion with the Staff Sides and department/grade management, the following initiatives have been implemented in 2000:

• To bring civil service pay for recruits more in line with those in the private sector, revised starting salaries for both civilian and disciplined grades were implemented with effect from April 1.

• Also in April, an Independent Secretariat on Civil Service Discipline was set up to handle disciplinary cases in a prompt, impartial and equitable manner.

• A new entry system and terms of employment that are more flexible and better suited the management's needs was introduced on June 1.

• Also on June 1, a new fringe benefits package that is more in line with the private sector was introduced to recruits.

• The application of Civil Service Regulations on granting, stoppage and deferment of increment for officers with sub-standard performance at work was tightened

up.

• A Management-Initiated Retirement Scheme was introduced to allow the management to provide for the retirement of directorate civil servants on permanent and pensionable terms to facilitate improvement in the government organisation.

A Voluntary Retirement Scheme was introduced for 59 designated grades where there is a staff surplus or anticipated staff surplus arising from areas where demand for services provided by the grade is declining; or where alternative modes or more cost-effective modes of service delivery are preferred. Over 11 000 staff applied to retire under the scheme during the three-month application period.