Fiji Service

New Conditions For

Division Between Overseas and Local Men Causes Active Discussion

From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, October 29.

TMJE much-discussed report of the Public Service Reorganisation Com mittee was approved at the last session of the Legislative Council, despite spirited opposition to many clauses by the un official members. Concessions were granted in minor cases.

Exception was taken to the proposed division of the Service into the “Over seas” and “Fiji” divisions, and particul arly to the title “Fiji,” so it was decided to call the divisions Senior and Junior.

But, as disgruntled members of the junior service remark, “a rose by any other name. . . .”

The result is that now the Senior divi sion, which practically means those who are members of the British Unified Colonial Service, draw salaries that are much higher than any in the junior ser vice, though the anomaly arises of there being junior officers of the junior service.

Members of the senior service have much better leave and passage-grant privileges than the others, and —perhaps the sorest point of all with the juniors—they hold pensionable posts, drawing a pension on retirement without having contributed anything toward it.

Those in the junior service, on the smaller salaries, have to pay into a pro vident fund and, on retirement, will draw a lump sum, with which, it is Govern ment view, they can purchase an annuity.

Those juniors who are at present holding pensionable posts can retain their pen sion rights, but by so doing they remain on the same conditions in the service as they are at present, which virtually means that if a man is on the maximum of his present grade he forfeits his chances of promotion. In order to be eligible for promotion he must, to all intents and purposes, give up his pension rights and accept the provident fund scheme, to which he will contribute out of his salary.

The committee suggested increased salaries for practically all departmental heads, but the Governor (Sir Arthur Richards) evidently did not think these increases sufficient, for when the salaries section came before the Council he put in special recommendations of his own — which, of course, went through—and most of the heads will receive further increases in salary.

The committee recommended a higher salary for the Attorney General than for the Chief Justice. This raised a protest from two legal members on the unofficial side, as well as others. His Excellency recommended that the salaries be the same; but, again, there was a protest, and eventually a compromise was reached, the Attorney General being placed £5O below the Chief Justice.

Since the report was issued there have been a number of resignations by junior members of the service, especially young men in the clerical division, who believe that there are greater opportunities outside the service.

Throughout the debate, the Indian members cried out against what they alleged was racial discrimination, holding that Indian Civil Servants were not

being treated as they should be. His Excellency pointed out thatconditions for Indians in the Fiji Service compared more than favourably with conditions in the service in India, When the motion was finally put to the Council for approval the only ones to vote against it were four of the Indian members, the fifth Indian, Mr. K. B.

Singh, declining to vote at all.