ENG-2004 — Page 48

22 Constitution and Administration

approach for applying the survey results. The plan is to commence the fieldwork of the pay level survey in the second quarter of 2005.

Apart from salaries, civil servants are eligible for fringe benefits depending on their terms of appointment, rank, salary point, length of service, and other eligibility rules. The Government has been taking proactive steps over the years to modernise the provision of fringe benefits to civil servants, including either ceasing or tightening up payment of many fringe benefit type of allowances for new recruits to reflect present day circumstances. In June 2004, the Civil Service Bureau consulted staff on the phase one review on fringe benefit type of allowances to ensure that their payment is in line with today's circumstances, enhance control over government expenditure in this area and improve efficiency in the administration of these allowances.

3. Conduct and Discipline

Since the establishment of the Secretariat on Civil Service Discipline to centrally process disciplinary cases, the Government has introduced further measures to shorten the time taken in processing disciplinary cases. It also delegated further authority on discipline matters to Head of Department, in the interest of empowering bureaux and departments to assume greater ownership in human

human resource management. The Civil Service Bureau has, in collaboration with the Independent Commission Against Corruption, embarked on a Civil Service Integrity Entrenchment Programme under which visits are made to departments as part of its efforts to further embed the culture of integrity in the civil service.

4. Training and Development

Training and development programmes support implementation of the reform. initiatives. The Government acquired funding of $50 million to roll out a Three-year Training and Development Programme from 2001-02 to 2003-04. The programme focuses on three main themes, namely, training for staff affected by the Voluntary Retirement exercise, training to equip staff with the requisite skills and knowledge to implement the Civil Service Reform initiatives, and promoting a continuous learning culture in the Civil Service.

Since the introduction of the scheme, more than 3 100 seminars and courses have been offered to about 83 000 staff. Savings from the Three-year Training and Development Programme will be used in 2005 to provide training that helps staff adapt to changes in the working environment.

On April 1, 2004, the Civil Service Training and Development Institute (CSTDI) was incorporated into the Civil Service Bureau in the interest of achieving greater efficiency and economy in operation. The CSTDI now focuses on four core service areas: senior executive development, national studies programmes, consultancy services in human resource management, and the promotion of a culture of continuous learning in the civil service.

For senior executive development, a variety of leadership programmes led by world-class professionals and academics are offered to directorate and potential