‘lnadequate Salaries At Top’

Press, Volume C, Issue 29679, 24 November 1961, Page 18

‘lnadequate Salaries At Top’

Inadequate salary in the top positions was the major reason for failing to retain staff in the Public Service, the Government Statistician. Mr J. V. T. Baker, said to the commission.

There were no real "plum” jobs in the .Public Service, said Mr Baker. Those who had the perseverance and ability to reach the high positions were paid inadequate salaries.

This meant that public servants "all the way along the line” did not set a very high value on their prospects of advancement. The appeal to their natural ambitions to make progress was inadequate. They became dissatisfied, and moved elsewhere.

“This is largely a question of the salaries paid for the higher posts, rather than a lack of opportunity for promotion.” said Mr Baker. In his experience the “in great degree” clause had not been the main stumbling

block in trying to recruit staff from outside the Public Service.

Main Difficulty The main difficulty had been that when a department had found people whose qualifications were especially suited to the work of that department, it was unable to offer them a salary which was attractive enough to secure their services.

This was mainly because the margins for skill payable in the Public Service were still far too low.

Mr Baker said the "in great degree” clause should be retained.

A major defect in the present classification system was that recruitment in the clerical division had been stretched to cover a very wide variety of occupations, for many of which its salary scale was quite unsuitable, said Mr Baker.

This led to difficulty in recruiting above - average people.

About one-third of those now in the clerical division were, in fact, doing jobs which were not appropriately described as clerical. They should be divided into special divisions, with salary scales more appropriate to

the special qualifications of abilities needed for their work. “Appeal System Good” Mr Baker said he was convinced that the present appeal system was a good one. and should be retained. “One of the difficulties which does arise at the present time with the Appeal Board is that the Public Service Commission is far too sensitive about the reversal of one of its decisions by the board. "The Public Service Commission cannot expect to be correct in its decisions in all cases, and should be big enough to tolerate the occasional reversal of a decision by the Appeal Board. “From the employees’ point of view, the presence of the Appeal Board does protect them against arbitrariness amd against personal prejudices in the making of an appointment. “It is also the only really definite way of ensuring that a public servant who. over the years, does not have the advancement he expects to have, can get some reason-ably-definite statement of his shortcomings, in the eyes of his superiors, and an opportunity to correct his faults.” Mr Baker said.