ENG-2001 — Page 58

CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

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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 Customer Service Excellence Award Scheme was launched in 2001 to recognise the efforts and achievement of departments/bureaux and their staff in providing quality customer service to the public and to further promote a customer-focused culture in the Civil Service.

Civil Service Reform

In March 1999, the Government released a Consultation Document on Civil Service Reform. The main objective was to put forward proposals to modernise the administration of the Civil Service so as to make it more flexible and prepare staff to face the changes and increasingly demanding challenges in the years ahead and meet the demands of society. As a result of feedback received during the consultation, the Government has drawn up more detailed proposals in the various policy areas for detailed discussion with the Staff Sides and department/grade management through working groups with staff representatives.

Following are the highlights of reform initiatives in four main areas:

1. Entry and Exit

On June 1, 2000, the Government introduced a new entry system and terms of appointment for new recruits to increase the flexibility of its appointment system.

The Government will implement a Civil Service Provident Fund (CSPF) Scheme in place of the pension system for recruits who are offered appointments to the Civil Service on or after June 1, 2000 under the new entry terms and when they subsequently progress onto the permanent terms of appointment. The Executive Council approved in July 2001 the design principles of the CSPF Scheme. The Administration is now working on the implementation details of the scheme.

In July 2000, the Administration introduced a Voluntary Retirement (VR) Scheme to enable staff of 59 designated grades with identified or anticipated staff surplus to retire from the service voluntarily with compensation and pension payments. Some 11 000 staff submitted their applications by the deadline in October 2000. About 9 350 applicants have so far been approved, with the majority departing in 2001.

The Administration has introduced a Management-Initiated Retirement Scheme to provide for the retirement of directorate civil servants on permanent and pensionable terms to facilitate improvement in the government organisation since September 2000.

2. Pay and Conditions of Service

To bring Civil Service benchmarks more in line with the private sector, the Government implemented new starting salary levels for both civilian and disciplined services grades with effect from April 1, 2000. The new salaries apply to all recruits and serving staff on transfer. With effect from the same date, starting salaries were delinked from the annual civil service pay adjustment and will be subject to the benchmark review which will be conducted every three to four years.