§ Mr. Peter Griffithsasked the Minister for the Civil Service whether acceptance by professional and technical officers of salary awards below those granted to administrative and executive officers would involve the former groups in reductions of conditions of service with regard to annual leave, subsistence allowances, 36W accommodation at sea and overtime payments in so far as those are established by comparability of grades between professional and technical officers and administrative and executive officers.
§ Mr. ChannonThe level of leave entitlement for a civil servant has been calculated by reference to a grade's relationship with various "key" administration group grades. However, in a letter of 2 May 1979 to the national staff side the CSD pointed out that for the time being this "key grade" system was frozen pending review. Thus at present acceptance of the CSD's offer for the grades concerned would entail no change in any P and T officer's leave entitlement.
As far as overtime conditions are concerned the CSD offer would not worsen the position of the P and T staff. Subsistence levels—and eligibility for first-class travel and other similar conditions of service—are also based on key grades. The CSD policy has been, and is, to assess whether any change is likely to be of an enduring nature before any change is made to the conditions of grades of staff who are apparently affected. In the past this has meant that least two pay policy-free years have elapsed before a change is made. The current CSD offer will therefore not affect any of these conditions of service this year.