CIVIL SERVICE CLASSIFICATION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1107, 21 April 1911, Page 4

CIVIL SERVICE CLASSIFICATION.

For something like four years the Civil Servants of the Dominion have been kept in a state of suspense as to the classification scheme provided for under the Public Service Classification Act of 1007. As is generally known the Post and Telegraph and the Railways Departments already have their classification schemes, and the Act of 1007 included all public servants outside these Departments with the exception of members of the police and defence forces, and those whose salaries are provided for byAct of Parliament, such as Judges, Ministers of the Crown, etc. A Board was constituted under the Act of 1907- to which was entrusted the task of preparing a scheme for the classification of all the positions in the Public Service, and this Board apparently has been in existence for over three years without having completed its work. Whether or not it has been devoting any closc attention to the task wc do not pretend to know; but despite the fact that the preparation of such a classification scheme is an undertaking of a kind that necessarily takes a good deal of time and the exercise of great care, it is perfectly obvious that the delay which lias occurred is beyond all reason. In 190S when questioned on the subject of the Board's report, the Prime Minister replied that it could not be completed in time to place it before Parliament that session. The inference plainly to be drawn from this was that it would be ready by the session following. _ Next session, however, it was still incomplete, the reason offered on this Occasion being ■that Departmental changes had caused the delay. In 1910 practic-

ally tho same excitsc was again made, and so the matter has dragged on until to-day. The position is most unsatisfactory. At the present time Civil Servants are not at all happily situated in regard to promotions and increases of salary. Kissing goes by favour, and so do a good many things in the Public Scrvice of the country. While a classification scheme will not remedy all these shortcomings it should provide Civil Servants with at least a definite idea of what they have to look forward to, subject to good behaviour, in the matter of salary. Even under a classification scheme such as that proposed there is room for that patronage and favouritism which have done such great injury to the Public Service of the country, but the opportunity is more restricted and the risk of exposure greater. Now that the Acting-Prime Minister has returned from his recreations we would suggest to him tho advisability of letting the public, and especially the members of the Civil Service, know something of how this classification business stands to-day. We rather suspect that with the elections falling due this year there will be a livelier interest on the part of Ministers in the matter. Should they succeed, however, in hanging the scheme up until the close of the coming session of Parliament, it might easily be neglected for another three years. There used to be a Civil Service organisation of some kind; if it is something more than a name it might interest itself in the subject.