THE PUBLIC SERVICE

Hokitika Guardian, 25 February 1931, Page 2

THE PUBLIC SERVICE

SUPERANNUATION ACT MAY BE AMENDED. WELLINGTON. February 23It is anticipated that Parliament, during the emergency session, will be asked to amend the Public Service Superannuation Act with the object of facilitating the retirement of employees who, normally, are within a few years of obtaining their .superannuation allowances. The Public Service is not seriously over-staffed, but great economy could be secured by this proposal, particularly if it,.were extended to the Railway Department, which, in the opinion of the recent Royal Commission, is over-manned. Retrenchment in the Defence Department was secured last year by similar legislation, a clause in the Finance Act empowering any member of th P permanent force or the clerical branch who was compulsorily retired througli no fault of bis own, to secure the superannuation allowance if, at the time of bis retirement the addition of five years to his aee or length of service would enable him to obtain superaimitation, as a right,

An extension of this provision to all the other branches of the State service would enable the Government to retrench, on pension, any permanent employee with thirty-five years’ service, or on reaching the age of sixty years, STATEMENT BY MR FORBES, CHRISTCHURCH, February 23. The Prime Minister (Mr Forbes), when the matter was referred to him, ns he passed thronght Chirstchurch to Wellington last evening, said that the whole question of economy was beingdealt with bv the Economy Committee, which had been set up while the Prime Minister was in England. The committee was still working, and Mr Forbes could not say whether the question of the retrenchment of civil servants due to receive their superannuation allowance within a few years had been considered or not. When the committee’s report was available, Cabinet would deal with the matter.