Adjustments Based On the Exchange The following official statement has been issued from the Publicity Ofüce of ihe Shanghai Municipal Council regarding the adjustment of salaries.
It is clear from criticisms that have been made of the Council's recent decisions in regard to staff salaries that misunderstanding exists as to the effect of the changes made. It should first be emphasized that the recent adjustments are not increases in basic pay, and would disappear altogether should exchange revert to the rate of 1/2% to the dollar. In the case of the heads of the principal administrative departments the maximum basic salary has in fact been slightly reduced, while the minimum basic salary has been slightly increased.
In regard to Class "A" employees (other than some twenty heads and deputies of principal administrative departments and heads of other departments) no new principle of exchange adjustment has been introduced. The salaries of "A" Class employees have for many years past been related to sterling in respect of cne-third of their salaries.. Prior to the recent decisions, the low limit for exchange adjustment in respect of these employees was 10%d. to the dollar. The effect of this was that these employees were not receiving the exchange adjustment which it was intended they should receive and which Members of Council felt that they were impliedly promised at the time that pay reductions were introduced on the recommendation of the Staff Economy Committee of 1936.
The provision of a low limit of 74. to the dollar in respect of exchange adjustment is made in order that the Council may reconsider the position should exchange fall to this level, The rate of exchange for computing exchange adjustment is based on the average rate of exchange during the preceding month; it follows that with every improvement in exchange the amount of exchange compensation issued will be reduced.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.