STIR IN THE CIVIL SERVICE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 154, 24 March 1908, Page 8

STIR IN THE CIVIL SERVICE.

SUPERANNUATION SCHEME. A CIRCULAR RESENTED. ' CASE OF THE OLD TEMPORARY CLERK. • Tho Civil -Servico is divided into' two .-. jamps. i, Tlio < gulf between permanent and temporary .officers- has.,never been so apparent as now,; when it: is supposed to be bridged. Tho Government, by the Public Servico Classification .Act- of last session, conferred, on all .temporary clerks who have been five. years in..tho State's employ the boon of-, permanent status. ' The. .'ternr porary .clerk .was. not observed to throw his > hat. into tho air. and shout. The' Govern.inent ;went-further in its kindness, and ber stowed upon , tho Civil Servico a superannuation schorao, to whoso benefits theso now permanent public servants wero to bo at once admitted. > Again,: there was no marked jubilation on the .part of the former temporary clerks. - As a . class tliey evinced no ardent , appreciation of the 'privilege of a. superapnuation . fund; though ; reminded. by circular to do so, they did not even come forward to' claim the privilege. . Then tho Government issued another circular, stating that it i is compulsory < for the' new permanent officers .either to join tho superannuation' fund at', once, or to become insured under another Act. As a . result of this circular, a great many Civil Servants who were re- ■ pently , temporary clerks' think themselves • considerably ill-treated by the Government which,claims to.have ; 'exalted''them.': Either tho temporary clerkis veiry ungrateful, or the benefits, which are being offered him are . less real than they purport to be.

A MISUNDERSTOOD CIRCULAR. 'As regards, the>circular which has -•aused the, present ■: discontent,> some misapprehension seoms toerist, which has. been; in- : creased by the publicity hitherto given to tho matter. Tho notification was'not issued by tho, Superannuation Board, but by the Minister for Internal Affairs (the Hon. Dr. Findlay), in piirsuanco of. advico given by. , tho Crown lawyers. It is not- a neu\ coercive resolution having reference to the whole Civil Servico, but is claimed by the authorities to be an explanation of the law as previously existing, .having application only to ; those permanent. Civil .Servants; who have -recently.;,received ;that' status.' by free Gov- 1 arnment gift. :. -~■'•. .'' '-- the circular. . The circular, reads' as .follows ■ •■■■"< '. / , Memorandum for Under-Secretaries ~ • and Heads of Departments. With refer- - ence • to. the provision of Section 15' of ' -•• = .the i Public .Service Classification- Act, • ■ 1907, which-c&mo into 'operation on the ;■; 25th. November,: 1907, .'it is held that all persons who under that section became : officers of the Public Service must forthwith be insured under "'The Civil Ser- . vice-Insurance Act,-1893'' (or have a ; de- . duction made fromvtheir salaries as'pro- ' vided by " The Civil Service Reform - Act,: 1886") unless ■, they ■.immediately ..- : clect, to; become contributors undor the' >'■ : ,Piiblic_Servico Superannuation Act, ;i907. < It is therefore ; requested ; that yoil will, without.'delay, instruct.'all'officers - under youn control and affected 'by . the v ■ • above-named ' section 15 that, unless thoy decide immediately to become cpntribu- '! . tors,; as, from; Ist March,'l9oß,' .to 'the. Public Service ; Superannuation ' Fund,' - . they must' forthwith beconio insured nn-' - —-dor ".OTje ;Civil Service Superannuation: •• - , Act f . 1893... . If not eligible for .-insur- ■,, ance-under; that, Act, their deductions should at once bo made from their sal- , anes undor section 11 of "Tho Civil : Service 'Reform Act, 1886." ~ , . ■:■ By ■ order,

HUGH POLLEN, .':•': '■■■■.[ ' Under-Secretary.' Department of Internal Affairs. •■■ .Wellington, 11th March, 1908. It . is., to. bo noted, in reference- to comilaints, that .iho circular, does not declare lartioipation in the superannuation scheme .0 be compulsory.' It- states, instead," that ,hesei new. permanent officials' must: either. :0m the>scheme or "insure themselves under ono of-the other Acts. And insurance under one; or other: of these, Acts ! has always; been compulsory- on permanent . Civil Servants. -

AN INTERESTING DISCOVERY,

regards ■ the - instructions -to officers alrccted which the circular directs heads of Departments to'give, apparently these'have . , been imparted' already in somr cases in a way that, has caused some'misconception and . not a; little indignation. : 'A' statement has been published; that, although, under the (superannuation Act (section 10, clause 1) it is optional for those who are eligible to clect what particular time within six months tlioy wilkjoin the fund. "An official of .the' Defence Department assembled some of the' ■UofcncG officials last week, .and: gave them up to five o'clock of the day, in question to ■ ,® r ° r ■ else insure, according to "the . CiviK Service Insurance Act, 1893, failing . which their, names'-were at once to be struck P<*y-sheet.". * :If such an alarming intimation were . really made, the v underlying explanation -ivould bo as fellow. (The point was made plain to a Dominion repre- , tentative yesterday- by an officer high up in tho service.) As previously stated, • all per-manent-members of tho Government's em- . ploy are compelled to be'issued under one of the' two'. Acts mentioned. Insurance, in fact, is made one of the conditions of their entrance to the Service. When, ty-the passing of the Public Service Classification Act, several hundred temporary clerks were made, on November 25, 1D07,. permanent Civil Servants, they became, ,inso facto, subject to • the,common-.necessity, of insurance, and sub-ject,-from that date,-to the usual deduction' .from salary for insurance purposes. For nearly four months nobody woke up to this. new Civil-Servants, happier than older I? KervantSj drew their. salaries without .'--deduction. Then tho mattor camo under the .notice of tho Crown Law ; Office, which, at once-announced that tne former temporary clerks,; being' now permanent officials, mre subject to compulsory' insurance, and that the. Audit Department had no power to pass their salaries if the usual deductions wore not' made.' That, is the explanation of the statement failing which, their'names vwe <at once to be struck, off tho pay-sheet.;' The .officers affected .did not congratulate tl cniselves that they had -.enjoyed- three months'immunity. They murmured liko the children .of .Israel .at the sudden'coercion brought to bear 011 them. .i '

STATEMENT BY DR, FINDI.AY. ■ The Hon. Dr. Findlay (Minister for /Internal Affairs) put the, matter thus to our representative:— " Under the. Public Service Classifica- " tion Act, Section , lo,' the , temporary ' clerk of five ;years' service .became a permanent Civil Servant on November: 20, 1907, and thereupon was bound forth- ■ with to insure under the Civil Service Insurance, Act, 1893. Instead of the law being enforced at once, some time was allowed to pass,: so that the permanent . Civil Servants . created by that. section should have the opportunity of - joining the. superannuation fund which came into force on January 1, 1908. These,newlycreated Civil Servants wore called .upon by their different departmental heads, _ and it was reported to me that they paid ■ no attention to the, request made to V thciri to comply with the plain letter of the law. Under these circumstances the memorandum in question was issued. It"> clearly kept in,mind that no . compulsion whatever, either in this circular or elsewhere, is-bcought. to. bear

on. -the newly-created Civil Servants to i join the superannuation scheme. They . ; ~ aro quito at liberty to ignore it, but they , cannot escape both" the fund and their . plain duty under tho. Civil Servico Insurance Act of 1893. In other words, they havo been given 'the-status of per- . .nianent Civil Servants, and they must submit to the conditions'which attach to that status, • and which: apply to . ' every permanent - member of the Civil ■service." , THE TWO; CAMPS. ' So far tho submission has not been graceful. Tho position taken up by the Govern- ) ment is being keenly criticised in the service, 1 .which, as was remarked before, is divided . into two. camps., . The old permanent Civil Servant is disposed, to rogard his now fellow . in status as a monstrous ingrate, cherishing ! an unnatural'spite against- tho hand that > feeds him. ;As a ; class, •he is inclined to , affect a superiority, moral and intellectual, ; to the class of former temporary clerks. Ho feels that tho temporary clerk has boon gioatly exalted, and if exaltation carries i with it disadvantages which the regular Civil ; Servant has to. bear,.lie is not likely, to I .commiserate with him on that account. The former temporary clerk,.'on.tho.other hand, looks upon the -ancient distinction between', permanent and temporary employees of tho State as largely imaginary. His side of the argument was expressed very strongly to the Pressman yesterday.' Ho' claims, undoubtedly with .justice, that.-many of the best men in the service were taken on; as extra clerks: He caul point ;to. certain . departments in which half the;officers of ihighest rank belong to this poorly-esteemed class. They have won their way to places of importance by merit pure and simple; no friendship with Ministers, no .wire-pulling of any kind, has assisted them in t-ho race, though a percentage of clerks admittedly owed their positions to theso baser causes. Some ;Of :the abler men of this; class are getting higher wages than many orthodox Civil Servants; they perceive no benefit" in being .placed in the same category as these, and subjected to restrictions, ,as regards. their futuro advancement,, based on length of service and a classification syistem which they [ say will chiefly benefit the least-fit. Though, they have beon called temporary clerks, they consider their.;positions to. be practically as secure and-, permanent as any others in the service-_ They point out, further, that- as regards insurance, they are in a different position from the ordinary Civil Servant who accept compulsory insurance as a condition of his entrance/into the'Stato's. employ. The temporary- clork was older than the regular cadet when lie joined'the service; ho was not compelled then to insure .'under . c-no particular scheme,- and,* possibly, if ho was not ' already insured, ho took up a .policy to please ' himself, and is now paying in the way of premiums as much as he can afford to pay. Now, i tho State has said;to Lira that that policy-is useless..;. He must' insure' again under a " scheme thai may not suit him; and. he can 1 either take the surrender valuo of his pre- i sent policy, which,is a bad financial bargain, 1 and deprives-him of the'spccial benefits ho 1 insured for,'or submit to two deductions from 1 his salary:' In return for this lie gets a change of status which he did not'ask for and in-which he fails to see any material advantage/ '

DEFECTS OF THE SCHEME,

• A good deal is made of tbo lack of variety lii the : State's insurance schcme. The Superannuation Act,/for oxample, provides an annuity ,at tho end. of. 40. years' scrvice, or at tho, age- of , 65:'., Tho annuity is a good ; ono, and if : the-person-insured were secure of living many: years .after 65, it would prove a,vei;y. sound investment. _ But a proportion of men who insure;-their lives hardly expect •to live .to'that ..ago' at all-> and believe that if they: do, a. very little will suffice them for their .wants. It will be too late then to employ the money, for thoir children, since their children and. their children's children will by that, timo be,fairly launched in the world, ■where' their - prospects'■•.may'.'be permanently weakened, bp. th'oVfact that; money 'was not earlier in their., lives, to place them in.a profession'. A man may well pre-' fer .one of- the eridowment;schemes, ;which - are said to be most popular to-day, and lvlioso benefit is felt at an ago when it can ■be enjoyed.-- Under the Superannuation Act the Government official is discouraged from leaving tho service. On his : doing so, ho will be paid , the bare . 'amount of his contributions- to the fund, .without benefits or interest. The. State ' is. naturally desirous of retaining'the services of its employees, but this does ..not , make/ the . clause' more acceptable" to public servants, some of tho best of wnom cannot view with equanimity tho prospect of a 'life-long connection; with the big wooden building. The widow's annuity of £18 a year provided for in case of an officer's death is naturally considered far. too small. Even,those.-,wlloido'not-share the general objections, to the, scheme admit that .this, siim would lie -useless-, : if thp widow had no other means, and .that the old-ago pension, which is £26, would ; probably be required as well. If the Government had raised the annuity to £50 there,would .have been.an.appearance of generosity, and the actual difference in disbursal would, in most,cases, liavo been only £6. . . i

CASE ACAINBTTHE> DISCONTENTED

As . against' these arguments, it 'is contended, that ;the temporary, clerk who, by an. act of grace, is. made' a: permanent State officer,, should be willing to accept the ftsati-' .vaiitages, as, well as; the..advantages, of his new status!. Ho enjoys-a concession in thathe is allowed to choose between superannuation and insurance, while; it is provided'that all' who';,enter - the State's' 1 employ in future must join the'superannuation scheme. He is also receiving the -benefit of past service, though, by-a provision"which is generally regarded as'an'anomaly, temporary clerks who iare' still in' the 'midst.'"'of: their five years' service will not receive this advantage when 1 they-_.attain -to'• permanent status and. come within the scheme. A good'deal of concern is felt by former temporary clerks over fifty years of'age, who earn, perhaps, £156 a year, and aro'required to pay iinder'tho Superannuation Act'no less than 10 per cent, of this ,small salaryi ' Maliy'of them are .wondering how they will contribute to the schemo and live, though such of them as are not already insured quito realise tho benefits to come. It is pointed out officially, however, that their position is not really'so serious, as thev have the : option of coming under tho Civil , Service Reform Act, under which they Will pay 6 per cent, of salary" to the Public Trustee. .Except from'temporary clerks who have just received' full 'status, it is jindo;stood' that applications have'from the first flowed freely in for.admission to the scheme, thoufih the discontented, persons say, that , a majority of participants are only joining because they think .that they have' no option in tho matter. It is also pointed out" that it is not an advantage to the State to forco men into the schemo,: since every, man' ivho joins becomes a burden,-not-a,benefit, to the' fund: Supporters of the scheme urge that tho fact that the Government has to pay'£2o,ooo at least into -the fund to keep it solvent proves that tho benefit is to tho officers, and not to the' State.. In .spite of-the dissatisfaction of the ex-temporary element, there is a general opinion among' Civil Servants that the Act is , a fairly satisfactory -measure, . though hardly anyone denies that it contains some strange anomalies AN APPARENT ANOMALY. Not the least .of these would appear to be compelling re-insurance; in the case of civil servants who have already, taken out a policy. The Dominion representative questioned Dr! Findlay on .this point. The Minister stated that this objection- was not confined to former temporary clerks', but that many people who joined the service in the regular way objected to re-insurance, and tho reply was always given that no previous insurance could be substituted for that required by the Act of 1893. No other course could be taken unless the law, as it had stood for years, was to be altered, and lie'did. not know that'the law had riot worked well.,

.The allegation that the superannuation scheme is chiefly advantageous to thevolder Civil Servants, with large .salaries, who look forward to, Retirement as'a fairly close contingency, is denied emphatically by these people. They' point out that if they will draw, more from the fund they pay more, proportionately, to belong to it, and some of them who hold outside policies as well are not so rich as riot to feel the strain.

As regards the number of ex-temporary clerks affected by the scheme, a Government official estimates it roughly as probably from lO to 15j3er. oenfc., .of .tne State s emjjiojees.