H.—l4.

Officers of the Service know that under the conditions now governing the matter of appointments to the Service they need have no fear that an outsider will be jumped in over their heads, and there is, therefore, no feeling of discontent in this respect. Transfers. —The Commission considered that the next thing to do was to arrange for free transfers between Departments—the Public Service to be treated as a whole, and not as a number of watertight compartments. Officers should feel that they were officers of the Public Service as a whole, and not officers of special Departments only. Officers of ability would then feel that they had the whole Service as a scope for their energies. Officers now have every opportunity for transfer from one Department to another, and, as mentioned elsewhere in this report, staff is transferred from Department to Department as may be necessary to meet the exigencies of the Service as a whole. This was very necessary throughout the war period and also during the disturbing effects of the present depression. As a general rule, all vacancies likely to involve the promotion of some one already in the Service are advertised in a Service journal, and all officers are therefore made aware of any opportunity for advancement. Valuation of Positions. —The Commission considered that the next matter was to see that all officers were getting properly paid for their work, and that the State was getting proper service for its pay. To do this, a proper plan of valuing all the various positions in the Public Service would require to be carried out and separate Divisions established in which each position should be classified and graded. This has been done, and each position is graded in one of the following Divisions and placed in an appropriate subdivision according to its value. The object is to give fair pay for every position and to see that similar work done in different Departments is paid at a similar rate. The Divisions are Administrative, Professional, Clerical, General, and Educational. It is provided that the Service as a whole shall be regraded or revalued at intervals of not more than five years, but positions may be improved or reduced in status from time to time as the occasion demands. Promotions. —The Commission indicated that promotions from one class to another should be entirely by merit, that factor alone to be the only consideration. No influence, political or otherwise, no social considerations, nothing but efficiency should be allowed to affect the selection and promotion of officers from one class to another. Periodical reports should be obtained on the work, general character, and ability of officers. The younger officers should be encouraged to go in for examinations, although promotion should not be decided by examination results alone. These matters have now all been given effect to, although it was not until the passing of the Public Service Amendment Act of 1927 that the matter of seniority was entirely subordinated to fitness. Appeals.— The Commission suggested that all officers should have the right of appeal direct to the controlling authority by letter stating fully their grounds of appeal should they think their positions were wrongly valued or that they were ill-treated in any way. They were of opinion that an outside Appeal Board that could override the management was a decided mistake. Officers now have a right of appeal to an independent Board of Appeal, and while much might be said for and against the system proposed by the Commission as well as the present system, it would now be difficult to make any change. An Appeal Board performs a very useful function, and may be regarded as a governor on the appointing authority and a safety-valve for the officers of the Service. Characteristics of the Service.—The Commission considered that the characteristics of the Service should be (1) entry by competitive examination, (2) probation before final admission, (3) security of tenure during good behaviour after admission, (4) promotion by merit, and (5) pensions on retirement. In regard to (1), entry to cadetships and as shorthand-typists is, as stated elsewhere in this report, by passing an Entrance Examination. Appointments from outside the Service are usually confined to adults and are to positions requiring some professional or technical skill. Competitive examinations are not held in such cases.

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