CLASSIFICATION.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1417, 18 April 1912, Page 4

CLASSIFICATION.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT, The Hon. G. W. Russell, Minister for Internal Affairs, made a statement to a Dominion* reporter yesterday touching tho vexed question of Civil Service classification. "There have been about 1400 appeals sent to the board," said the Minister, "about half of them being from Wellington., All the appeals have l>een referred to the heads of Departments to classify and report, and they have been requested to complete this work by the end of the present month. A very largo number of these appeals are based on objections as 'to questions of principle, rather than objections to tho classification of the officers appealing. Tho law provides that tho appeals shall bo heard and determined by tho board, and it is expected that certain typical cases will bo oonsidtTed, and the decision taken as guiding in other cases, so that a number of appeals will then probably be withdrawn. I have not gone into the details of any. of tho appeals myself. I think tho decision of tho board that heads of Departments should be asked to report on tho appeals of officers in their own Departments is a very proper one. When tho board receives tneir reports, tho appenls will bo considered. The desire is to get the matter put through as rapidly as possible, and put on a 'proper basis. The appellants have the right to appear before tho board, either personally or by representation." On reference being made to tho complaint that tho classification list in its present form was tho work, not of tho heads of tho respective Departments, but of the board which would hear tho appeals, Mr. Russell said he was not; prepared to deal with that point. "But," ho added, "the Civil Service can perfectly rely on getting fair treatment. I am going to look to that. I presume it is for that purposo that tho Minister for Internal Affairs is made statutory chairman of tho board."