JUDGES' REMUNERATION (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read. 3.41 p.m.

The Minister for Finance (Mr Hon Sui Sen): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

As befitting the status and independence of the Judiciary, the remuneration of the Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court is provided for, separately from the rest of the public service, in the Judges' Remuneration Act (Chapter 7 of the Revised Edition).

Substantive salary changes for the Chief Justice and the Judges require to be reflected in the Act. The salaries of the Chief Justice and Judges were revised in March 1973, when Government raised the salaries for Superscale officers in order to keep salaries of the senior grades in the civil service in line with those in the private sector. It was revised again in 1979 on the consolidation of the NWC allowances with their then basic salaries.

More recently, Government has made further changes to the salary structures of the Administrative and Professional services. As one result, improvements to the salary structure of the Administrative Service were made by the introduction of three Staff Grades. In the case of the Medical Service, medical and dental specialists are now paid enhanced specialist allowances. A special allowance was also introduced for officers in the Legal Service.

The Prime Minister, in his Ministerial Statement just now, has explained that to bring the salaries of the Judiciary in line with changes in the rest of the public service, the Chief Justice's salary has to be increased to the equivalent of Staff Grade 11 and the salaries of Judges of the Supreme Court to the equivalent of Superscale 'A'.

This Bill proposes to give legal effect to the changes from 1st April, 1981. As a result, the pensionable salary of the Chief Justice, now $10,815 p.m. will then become $13,000 p.m. and the pensionable salaries of the other Judges, now $8,650 p.m. and $7,930 p.m. will become $9,370 p.m.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Hon Sui Sen].

Bill considered in Committee: reported without amendment: read a Third time and passed.