Servants Debated
p. 26 · Read in the full issue
Leave Grants For
Fiji’S Civil
(From Our Own Correspondent) servants’ overseas leave u —for many years a sore point with non-civil-service tax payers in Fiji—should be brought into line with general commercial practice in the
Colony, suggests a sub-commit
tee of the Suva Chamber of
Commerce.
The sub-committee’s report takes the form of a letter addressed to the Government committee appointed to deal with the con tentious question. It has not yet been released in full by the Chamber of Commerce because the Government committee is still dis cussing the matter.
At the April meeting of the Chamber the need for greater con tinuity of service and more economical leave conditions was stressed. 2 When asking for the 1954 leave figures, the sub-committee had “got a bad year,” said Mr. S. Tetzner.
Gf 714 officers eligible for over seas leave, only 150 had taken it.
At a cost of £732 each, 40 went to Britain; 27 to Australia (£202 each); 78 to New Zealand (£63 each); and five to other places (£582 each) Included in the NZ group were eight officers restricted to a £25 grant THE president (Mr. W. G. John son) referred to civil servants’ privileges, such as pension
rights free of taxation on the money saved for the pensioners, passage grants and houses at cheap rentals. It would not be any hard ship for civil servants to take over seas leave every four years, he said.
Mr. E. J. Gough said that the three-year term was part of the suggested plan to bring civil service conditions more into line with com mercial practice.
“But commercial men have to
Jve longer,” replied Mr. Joh Civil servants can retire on pe( at 50 and take another job should survive to be 100!”
Competition with other coL for qualified men was an argui always put up when incrr salaries or better conditions fo< civil service were asked for,, Johnson continued, adding that should look more to New Zes and Australia for recruits.