For discussion EC(95-96)53
on 2 November 1995
ITEM FOR ESTABLISHMENT SUBCOMMITTEE
OF FINANCE COMMITTEE
HEAD 142 - GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT : OFFICES OF THE CHIEF SECRETARY, THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY AND THE POLITICAL ADVISER
Subhead 001 Salaries
Members are invited to recommend to Finance Committee -
- the hiving-off of the Chinese Language Division (CLD) from the Chief Secretarys Office (CSO) to form a new independent agency, to be retitled as the Official Languages Agency, on 1 April 1996; and
- the following changes in the directorate establishment in the CLD under the Administration Wing, CSO -
- the creation of one permanent post of Administrative Officer Staff Grade B (D3) ($111,100 - $117,750) offset by the deletion of one permanent post of Administrative Officer Staff Grade C (D2) ($95,550 - $101,450);
- the creation of a new rank and one permanent post of Principal Chinese Language Officer (D1) ($80,450 - $85,400); and
- the creation of one supernumerary post of Principal Executive Officer (D1) ($80,450 -$85,400) for a period of three years.
The existing directorate support for the CLD is inadequate to cope effectively with its increasing workload and responsibilities in the development of a biliterate and trilingual civil service. The CLD also needs an independent identity and a more authoritative status in undertaking its new tasks ahead.
2. The Secretary for the Civil Service (SCS) proposes that the CLD should be separated from the CSO to become a new independent agency, to be retitled as the Official Languages Agency (OLA). SCS also proposes to strengthen the directorate structure of the CLD by -
- upgrading the post of the Commissioner for Chinese Language (CCL) from Administrative Officer Staff Grade C (AOSGC) (D2) to Administrative Officer Staff Grade B (AOSGB) (D3) and retitling it as the Commissioner for Official Languages (COL);
- creating a new rank and one permanent post of Principal Chinese Language Officer (PCLO) (D1); and
- creating a supernumerary Principal Executive Officer (PEO) (D1) post for a period of three years.
3. Hitherto the CLD is responsible for delivery of translation and interpretation services to facilitate the Governments communication with the public, and management of some 500 Chinese Language Officers, 280 Calligraphists and 20 Simultaneous Interpreters. An existing organisation chart of the CLD is at Enclosure 1.
4. Given Governments policy to develop a biliterate (in English and Chinese) and trilingual (in English, Cantonese and Putonghua) civil service, there is a need to restructure and strengthen the directorate establishment of CLD to enable it to take a lead on the language front and effect a change in the culture and attitude of the civil service. This will involve expanding its functions in the following areas -
- Development of institutional arrangements
This will involve the setting of guidelines and standards for the civil service in the use of official languages, review of civil service language practices, provision of advisory and inspection services to departments, monitoring of standards and progress on the use of the official languages in departments, enforcement of language policies and practices etc.
- Creation of an environment favourable to the wider use of Chinese in the civil service
It will assume a more strategic and proactive role in providing input in Chinese language training. It will liaise closely with the Civil Service Training Centre (CSTC) to work on common standards and preferred style to be adopted in the service and delivered in training courses. It will also ensure adequate provision of facilities and services and compile appropriate reference materials and language aids to support the wider use of Chinese in the civil service.
- Review on the future role of the Chinese Language Officer (CLO) and Calligraphist grades
With continued progress in the development of a bilingual capability within the civil service and the gradual assumption of Chinese word processing duties by the secretarial staff, the CLD will need to review the future roles of the CLO and Calligraphist grades from functional and staff relations points of view.
- Co-ordination within the civil service
It will have to take up a very important co-ordinating role within the civil service for the pursuit of the above tasks.
5. For the CLD to undertake these new tasks effectively, it must be given a clear identity, a more authoritative status and a close policy relationship with the Civil Service Branch. To reflect its enhanced role, SCS proposes that the CLD should be detached from the CSO to become an independent agency, to be retitled as Official Languages Agency (OLA). A revised organisation chart of the CLD (and the future independent OLA) is at Enclosure 2.
6. The CCL post has remained at AOSGC level since the division was created in 1973. The existing duty list of the CCL is at Enclosure 3.
7. The CCL will assume a pivotal role in ensuring that the OLA will fulfil its enhanced functions set out in paragraph 5 above. In addition, he will continue to oversee the work of the agency, in particular the implementation of the recommendations of the Working Group on the Use of Chinese in the Civil Service (WGUCCS), and will monitor progress on the use of official languages regularly. The Commissioner will also need to focus on the evolving roles and functions of the Chinese Language Officer (CLO) and Calligraphist grades to consider the best arrangements to tie in with the wider use of Chinese in the civil service.
8. To discharge his duties effectively, the Commissioner should have good interpersonal skills and sufficient seniority to be able to communicate effectively with policy secretaries, heads of departments and other senior staff. He will also need to have good political acumen and extensive administrative experience to take on board Governments policy objective of developing the language abilities and skills of the civil service. Having regard to these requirements and the increased responsibilities and complexity of his job, SCS considers it necessary to upgrade the CCL post from AOSGC (D2) to AOSGB (D3). Moreover, to reflect his responsibility as head of the new OLA, SCS also proposes to retitle the post as the Commissioner for Official Languages (COL).
9. Given the great expansion of the functions and responsibilities of the OLA, it would not be possible for the new Commissioner to assume his expanded duties on strategic and policy matters unless he is relieved of some of his current more time-consuming day-to-day duties. SCS proposes to create a new rank and one permanent post of PCLO to assist the Commissioner in the following duties -
- Translation and interpretation services to Secretariat branches and departments which have no CLO support
Due to the growing demand for translation service, it has become increasingly necessary for the Commissioner to maintain close supervision of the various translation units in order to make full use of the limited manpower resources. It is also incumbent upon the Commissioner to ensure the quality of the translated texts, including consistent use of terminology. This responsibility alone takes up almost 40% of the Commissioner's time. Workload statistics are at Enclosure 4. The proposed PCLO would be able to relieve the Commissioners workload in regulating and supervising assignments in order to ensure effective and efficient translation work.
- Management of the CLO, Interpreter (Simultaneous Interpretation) and Calligraphist grades
The span of control of the Commissioner has grown from two Chief Chinese Language Officers (CCLOs) when the division was first set up in 1973 to one Chief Conference Interpreter (CCI), seven CCLOs, three Chief Interpreters (Simultaneous Interpretation) and two Chief Executive Officers in 1995. As the head of the translation and interpretation grades, the Commissioner is responsible for the management, career development, deployment, welfare and training of the CLO, Interpreter (Simultaneous Interpretation) and Calligraphist grades, the establishment of which has increased from 280 staff in 1973 to 800 staff in 1995. These grade management activities are time consuming, yet important. Given the expanding functions of the CLD, there is a genuine operational need for a PCLO to assist the Commissioner in assessing staff performance and evaluating the training needs of the CLO and Calligraphist grades.
- Work of the Bilingual Laws Advisory Committee (BLAC)
The Commissioner is a member of BLAC, which was established under the Official Languages Ordinance to advise the Governor in Council on the translated Chinese texts of those ordinances which were enacted in English. The workload of the Commissioner in this respect has increased substantially in recent years. As at 31 May 1995, 224 Ordinances comprising about 9 900 pages of text have been examined by BLAC. 96 of these Ordinances have been authenticated. As this is only about half of the task, the speed of BLAC in examining translated texts is anticipated to be doubled in the near future. The PCLO will take over a significant proportion of the Commissioners duties in examining translated texts. Where necessary, he may also be made a member of BLAC.
10. In addition, the proposed PCLO will also assist the Commissioner in handling professional matters relating to standardisation of translation, liaison with academic institutions and inspection services. The revised job description for the COL and a job description for the PCLO post are at Enclosures 5 and 6 respectively. The existing and proposed structure of the CLO grade is at Enclosure 7.
11. SCS has explored the possibility of redeploying the Chief Conference Interpreter (CCI), head of the Putonghua Interpretation Section, to take on part of the Commissioner's responsibilities. However, since the CCI is fully occupied with interpretation duties and he is often required to travel overseas to act as the official interpreter for the Hong Kong Government at international meetings, he would not have any spare capacity to relieve the Commissioner of the daily operational duties.
12. The COL will require the assistance of an officer with broad executive experience and ability to implement the recommendations of the WGUCCS. Having regard to the scope and complexity of the task, SCS proposes to create a PEO post on a supernumerary basis to assist the Commissioner in implementing the following recommendations of the Working Group -
- Equipping General Grades staff with Chinese word processing facilities and skills
The purpose of this initiative, at a total non-recurrent cost of $112.8 million, is to provide the General Grades staff (including Executive, Secretarial and Clerical Grades) with the necessary facilities and training to perform Chinese word processing functions. The proposed PEO will lead a special task force to oversee the procurement and training project, including the vetting and prioritising of bids from departments, liaising with the Information Technology Services Department regarding procurement and installation, and working closely with CSTC to synchronise training in Chinese word processing skills with the availability of new equipment. The FC will consider the proposed commitment for this project at its meeting on 27 October 1995.
- Formulation and co-ordination of action plans to promote and develop wider use of Chinese in the civil service
The PEO will formulate and co-ordinate strategies and action plans on the use of Chinese, develop general guidelines for bilingual internal communication, assist departments in addressing concerns and practical issues involved in furthering the use of Chinese, monitor progress and identify further practical steps for achieving the ultimate goal of a biliterate and trilingual civil service.
- Pilot Schemes
The PEO will co-ordinate and monitor progress of the pilot schemes which have been implemented in the Housing Department and Home Affairs Department for the purpose of developing practical steps to promote on a systematic basis the wider use of Chinese on the ground.
- Review of the CLO and Calligraphist grades
The PEO will assist the COL in examining the future roles and functions of the CLO and Calligraphist grades.
13. It will not be possible for the proposed PCLO to absorb the above tasks as he will be fully engaged in his area of responsibility. Therefore, there is a need to create an additional PEO post to provide the necessary focus and directions to issues concerning the wider use of Chinese.
14. SCS estimates that it will take at least three years to fully implement the recommendations of the WGUCCS because of the evolutionary nature of the process and the constant need to reassess and refocus priorities and goals and identify new initiatives. He therefore proposes to create the PEO post for a period of three years. He will review, upon completion of the exercise, if there is a continued need for the PEO post. A job description for the proposed supernumerary PEO post is at Enclosure 8.
15. The notional annual mid-point salary costs of these proposals are -
|
|
$
|
No. of Posts
|
|---|
|
New permanent posts
|
|
|
|
Administrative Officer Staff Grade B
|
1,372,800
|
1
|
|
Principal Chinese Language Officer
|
994,200
|
1
|
|
New supernumerary post
|
|
|
|
Principal Executive Officer
|
994,200
|
1
|
|
Less Deletion of permanent post
|
|
|
|
Administrative Officer Staff Grade C
|
1,182,600
|
1
|
|
Additional cost
|
2,178,600
|
2 |
There is sufficient provision in the 1995-96 Estimates to meet the costs of these proposals.
16. The WGUCCS chaired by SCS was set up in March 1995 to map out a strategy to build up a biliterate and trilingual civil service. The report of the Working Group recommended a package of proactive measures to encourage the use of Chinese in the civil service. One of the Working Group's recommendations was that the necessary institutional framework should be put in place to co-ordinate efforts in promoting the use of Chinese in the civil service. This necessitates the reorganisation of CLD as detailed in this paper.
17. Policy responsibility for Chinese language will be transferred from the Director of Administration to SCS to reflect the Governments priority in developing a biliterate and trilingual civil service. The main thrust of the policy drive to widen the use of Chinese will be on changing the language culture of the civil service and stepping up training to improve the Chinese capability of the civil service : both of which SCS is best placed to do. There is therefore an obvious advantage in SCS assuming this policy responsibility. With this proposed transfer, SCS will be fully responsible for Government's language policy as provided under the Official Languages Ordinance and will assume a leadership role in overseeing the use of official languages in external communication. He will also work closely with the Director of Administration on the bilingual laws translation programme and the greater use of Chinese in the legal and judicial fields.
18. These proposals originate from CSB and thus have the Branchs full support.
19. The Standing Committee on Directorate Salaries and Conditions of Service (SCDSCS) has advised that the grading proposed for the permanent posts of Administrative Officer Staff Grade B and Principal Chinese Language Officer would be appropriate if the posts were to be created. As regards the PEO post, as it is proposed on a supernumerary basis, its creation, if approved, will be reported to the SCDSCS in accordance with the agreed procedures.
Civil Service Branch
October 1995
Enclosure 3 to EC(95-96)53
Responsible to : Deputy Director of Administration (1)
- as head of the Chinese Language Division;
- to monitor effective implementation of Governments Chinese Language Policy to ensure the widest possible use of Chinese in all manner of communications between Government departments and the public;
- to manage the Chinese Language Officer, the Interpreter (Simultaneous Interpretation) and the Calligraphist grades;
- to administer the Chinese Language Division and ensure efficient and effective provision of translation and interpretation services;
- to serve as a member of the Bilingual Laws Advisory Committee and to provide secretariat support to the Committee; and
- to undertake vetting of translated texts of sensitive documents.
Enclosure 4 to EC(95-96)53
|
Year
|
Putonghua Interpretation Section
(number of man-days)
|
Simultaneous Interpretation Section
(number of meetings)
|
Translation Section
(number of words)
|
|---|
|
1990-91
|
322
|
1,283
|
9,915,000
|
|
1991-92
|
337
|
1,349
|
9,333,000
|
|
1992-93
|
406
|
1,483
|
9,684,000
|
|
1993-94
|
363
|
1,596
|
10,471,000
|
|
1994-95
|
449
|
1,732
|
11,795,000
|
|
Increase over
1990-91
|
39%
|
35%
|
19% |
Enclosure 5 to EC(95-96)53
Responsible to : Secretary for the Civil Service
- as head of the future independent Official Languages Agency;
- to oversee the implementation of the recommendations of the Working Group on the Use of Chinese in taking forward Government's policy objective of developing a biliterate and trilingual civil service;
- to develop guidelines and standards for the civil service in the use of official languages, to review language practices and conventions and to provide advisory and support services to departments;
- to regularly monitor progress on the use of Chinese with a view to refocusing priorities and initiatives and identifying further steps to widen the use of Chinese;
- to manage the Chinese Language Officer, the Interpreter (Simultaneous Interpretation) and the Calligraphist grades and to examine their future roles and functions to determine the best possible arrangements to tie in with the overall development on the language front;
- to administer the Chinese Language Division (before April 1996) / the Official Languages Agency (after April 1996) and ensure efficient and effective provision of translation and interpretation services;
- to serve as a member of the Bilingual Laws Advisory Committee and to provide secretariat support to the Committee;
- to undertake vetting of translated texts of sensitive documents; and
- to liaise closely with academic and professional bodies to ensure that Government's needs for quality translators and interpreters are met as far as practicable.
Enclosure 6 to EC(95-96)53
Responsible to : Commissioner for Official Languages
- co-ordinating and supervising the work of the Training and Development Section, the Inspection Section and the Translation Services Section and ensuring the timely delivery of translation services;
- determining policy and priorities in respect of training needs of the CLO grade;
- assisting in liaison with academic institutions and professional bodies in the promotion of translation and interpretation training;
- assisting in the monitoring of progress on the use (including standards) of Chinese and providing advisory and support services to departments;
- standardisation of the translation of Government-wide documents and issuing translation guidelines for departments to follow;
- assisting in the management of the CLO and Calligraphist grades;
- providing support to the Commissioner in the activities of Bilingual Laws Advisory Committee as necessary; and
- undertaking translation and/or vetting of translation of politically sensitive documents.
Enclosure 7 to EC(95-96)53
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Pay Scale
|
|---|
|
Rank
|
Existing
|
Proposed
|
|---|
|
Principal Chinese Language Officer
|
-
|
D1
|
|
Chief Chinese Language Officer
|
MPS 45-49
|
MPS 45-49
|
|
Senior Chinese Language Officer
|
MPS 34-44
|
MPS 34-44
|
|
Chinese Language Officer I
|
MPS 28-33
|
MPS 28-33
|
|
Chinese Language Officer II
|
MPS 16-27
|
MPS 16-27 |
Enclosure 8 to EC(95-96)53
Responsible to : Commissioner for Official Languages for implementing the following recommendations of the Working Group on the Use of Chinese in the Civil Service -
- to oversee the implementation of the $112.8 million project for enhancing Chinese proficiency in the civil service, including vetting and prioritising of bids from departments for microcomputer hardware and software for Chinese word processing, liaising with ITSD regarding procurement and installation schedules and CSTC regarding training arrangements and throughput to dovetail with the purchase programme;
- to formulate and co-ordinate appropriate strategies and action plans to promote and support the wider use of Chinese in the civil service;
- to develop general guidelines for bilingual internal communication;
- to co-ordinate and monitor the pilot schemes in Housing Department and Home Affairs Department;
- to assist in examining the future roles and functions of the CLO and Calligraphist grades; and
- to assist in monitoring progress on the use of Chinese in departments and identifying further steps for achieving the ultimate goal of a biliterate and trilingual civil service.
Last Updated on 3 December 1998
