PUBLIC SERVICE.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19162, 19 November 1927, Page 14

PUBLIC SERVICE.

ADMINISTRATION OF THE DEPARTMENTS. BILL BEFORE HOUSE. (THE PBXSS Special Service.? WELLINGTON, November IS. The Public Service Amendment Bill, of which the details were made available and which was passed by the House to-day, is part of a scheme designed to secure uniformity in the administration of the Departments subject to the control of the Commissioner, the P. and T. Department, and the Railways Department. The Bill gives \\w Governor-General in Council, on the recommendation of tho Commissioner, power to revoke Orders which have been made, excluding individual officers from the sphere of jurisdiction of the Commissioner. Officers who are not now under the control of the Commissioner' are to be made eligible to hold positions under him. The present restrictions, on approaching the Commissioner in respect to staff matters by the persons concerned or others, are partially lifted by the Bill, which says the prohibition from giving information or advice, or making representations in respect of appointments, promotions, or salary is not to apply if it is done at the request of the Commissioner. Grading of Oflicers. The decision of. the Commissioner with regard to the grading of officers is to be final, but if he alters the grading of an officer and assigns, the work to the officer previously employed there, any other officer is to have the same right of appeal as in the case of an appointment to a position for which applications have not been called. The Bill gives the Commissioner power to appoint persons from outside the service to special positions if, in his opinion, there is no qualified officer available from the ranks of the service to fill the appointments. He may also transfer an officer from one Department to another, and when there are two or more applicants for any position, preference is to be .given to the most efficient.Seniority is to count only when the officers are equal in efficiency. The interests of officers who may be superseded by the transfer of an officer from another Department tiro safeguarded by a provision which says that transfers will not be confirmed until all appeals are settled or the time for lodging appeals has expired. i Punishment, of Offenders. i An important section in the Bill is designed to increase the efficiency, and maintain the prestige of the service. It specifies a number of offences ranging from indolence and insubordination to disgraceful and improper conduct, and gives the permanent heads of Departments authority to caution or reprimand the offenders or impose fines up to £2. The penalties are to be subject to the confirmation of the Commissioner, whose decision in the matter is to be final. More serious offences under this heading are to be the subject of written complaints and investigation by the Commissioner, who, if the offence is proved, may impose a caution or reprimand, reduce the annual leave of the offender, fine him. reduce his grading, transfer him, or xiismiss or compel him to tender his resignation from the service. The constitution and procedure of the Appeal Board a.rtd tho right of appeal are set out in detail. The Bill provides that the Board shall comprise four members, two to be appointed by the Governor-General and two to be elected by the officers of the service. One of the members appointed by the Governor-General is to be from the service, while only one of the elected members is to act a't n. time. Term of Office. The elected members are to hold office for the remainder of the term for which they were elected and a ballot for new appointments is to be held not later, than, the second week in May of next year.■■and thereafter during May in every third year. The elected members must belong to different Departments and provision is made, in tho Bill to meet the case of the ballot lieing in favour of two candidates from the same Department The members of the Board are not to adjudicate on any appeal concerning themselves or. of any officer from their own Department. THE RAILWAYS. APPOINTMENTS ON EFFICIENCY. [THE PRESS Special Service,] WELLINGTON, November 18. New staff administration provisions, including the right to promote by efficiency rather than by seniority, are contained in the Government Railways Bill now before the House of Representatives. Appointments carrying a salary over £760 are to be made by the Governor-General, while every other, appointment is .to be made by the Minister for Railways. Provision is made for transferring officers from other Departments to the Railway Department and also for the filling of positions by the transfer of officers already in the Department. Jn the latter Annexion efficiency is to be the governing factor. In the event of there being two or more applicants the position is to be given to the member considered by the appointing authority to be the most efficient and suitable. Where efficiency is equal the decision will be determined by seniority. The relative efficiency of two or more members is to be determined by reference to their special qualifications and aptitude for the discharge of the duties together with merit, diligence, and good conduct. Provision is included for the right of appeal, and as a consequence appointment by transfer is to bo provisional, pending the result of appeals. Another portion of the Bill provides for the periodical regrading of positions and offices of the first division. The first reclassification is to be made on or before April Ist, 1929, and subsequent regradings at five-yearly intervals.

Appeal Board. An appeal board, consisting of a chairman appointed by the GovernorGeneral, an officer of the Department appointed by the Minister, an elected member of the first division, and four members representing the workshops, locomotive, running, traffic, and maintenance branches of the second division, is to be constituted, and its decision will be final. Members representing the two divisions are to sit only where appeals concerning their own division are being heard. Fourteen days' notice is to be given of intention to appeal. An attempt to influence the appeal board is to be an offence punishable by a fine up to £SO and liability to immediate dismissal following conviction. General clauses of the Bill incorporate provision for the secretaries of the various railway organisations at the termination of their periods of engagement being permanently reappointed to.the service at their former salary with the right to have their service as secretary counted for superannuation purposes. Amendments to the principal Act propose that the working railways ac-

count and not the Consolidated Fund will stand the payment of increased benefits to widows and children of deceased superannuitants. "Where deficiencies exist in the superannuation fund they will, in future, be met out of the working railways account and not the Consolidated Fund.