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Fiji Sessional Legislation |
REPUBLIC
OF FIJI
DECREE
NO. 40
PUBLIC SERVICE DECREE 1990
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTION
1.
Short title
2.
Interpretation
3. Additional powers of
the Commission
4. Functions of the
Commission in respect of the Public
Service
5. Powers of the Commission in
respect of statutory bodies
6.
Delegation of powers and functions
7.
Power to summon witnesses, etc.
8.
Annual Report
9.
Regulations
10. General orders and
saving
11.
Instructions
12. Protection of members
of Commission
13. Offence to attempt
to influence Commission
14. Coming
into force
_______
THE
SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF
FIJI
DECREE NO.
40
PUBLIC SERVICE DECREE 1990
A DECREE GIVING THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION ADDITIONAL POWERS AND FUNCTIONS AND RELATED MATTERS
IN exercise of the powers
vested in me and pursuant to Section 5 of the Constitution of the Sovereign
Democratic Republic of Fiji
(Promulgation) Decree,1990 and as amended by Section
2 of the Constitution of the Sovereign Democratic Republic of Fiji
(Promulgation)
Decree 1990 (Amendment No. l)Decree 1990, I as the person
appointed to perform the functions of the office of the President of the
Republic of Fiji and acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister
and the Cabinet, hereby make the following Decree-
PART I - PRELIMINARY
Short title
1.
This Decree may be cited as the Public Service Decree 1990.
Interpretation
2.
In this Decree, unless the context otherwise requires-
"Commission" means the Public Service Commission constituted under section 126 of the Constitution;
"Commissioner" means a member of the Commission;
"Department" means a Ministry or division of a Ministry as may be designated by the Commission;
"employee" means a person employed in the Public Service;
"Gazette" means the Fiji Gazette or the Fiji Republic Gazette published by the order of the Government and includes supplements thereto and any Extraordinary Gazette so published.
"Minister" means the Minister in charge of the Commission;
"Ministry" means a Ministry of the Government in the charge of a Minister pursuant to section 92 of the Constitution;
"Officer" means a person employed in the Public Service who is subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission, but does not include a wage earner;
"Permanent Secretary" means the officer responsible to a Minister for the supervision of a Ministry, a Department or a group of Departments within a Ministry pursuant to section 92 of the Constitution or any officer appointed by the Commission to have the powers and functions of a Permanent Secretary for the purposes of this Decree;
"probation" means the period during which an officer's suitability for permanent appointment is assessed;
"promotion" means the appointment of an officer to a public office to which is attached a higher salary or higher maximum salary than that attached to the public office he last held substantively;
"Public Service" means the service in the Government of Fiji in any capacity in respect of the Government other than in a military capacity;
"statutory body" means any council, board, commission, committee or similar body, whether corporate or unincorporated established under any written law other than the Companies Act;
"temporary appointment" means the appointment of a person to a temporary office in the Public Service or the appointment of a person temporarily to a permanent office in the Public Service;
"wage earner" means a person employed by reference to any rate of remuneration or payment other than an annual one.
PART II - POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION
Additional powers of the Commission
3.-(1)
The powers and functions vested in the Commission under this Decree shall be in
addition to the powers and functions vested in
it under the
Constitution.
(2) In the discharge
of the powers and functions vested in it by this Decree the Commission shall act
in accordance with any general
directions as to policy given to it by the
Minister.
Functions of the Commission in respect of the Public Service
4.-(1)
The Commission shall, in respect of the Public Service, be responsible
for-
(a) reviewing the machinery of Government, including the desirability of or need for the creation of new Ministries or Departments within Ministries, the amalgamation or abolition of existing Ministries or Departments the co-ordination of the activities of Ministries and Departments and, subject to the provisions of any other written law the extent and nature of the controls exercised over the operations of a Ministry or Department;
(b) investing, approving and reviewing establishments in Ministries and Departments;
(c) classifying and grading posts in Ministries and Departments and determining the salaries and terms and conditions of employment to be attached to such posts;
(d) fostering the efficiency and economy of the Public Service, including the discharge by Permanent Secretaries of the responsibilities placed on them under this Decree;
(e) acting as the central personnel authority for the Public Service;
(f) prescribing training programmes for and assistance with the training of employees, co-ordinating training activities of Ministries and Departments, conducting service examinations and implementing Government scholarship policies;
(g) providing suitable office accommodation and prescribing and supervising the physical working conditions of all employees;
(h) providing or causing to be provided management consultation services, including advice or efficient work and control methods and techniques, data processing equipment and problems of organization.
(2)
The Commission is empowered at all times in respect of the Public Service to
carry out such inspections and investigations, and
is entitled to receive such
reports, as it considers necessary to advise any Permanent Secretary or Head of
Department or to report
to the Minister regarding the matters dealt with in this
section or on such other matters as the Minister may direct.
Powers of the Commission in respect of statutory bodies
5.-(1)
The Commission shall, when directed by the Minister at the request of a Minister
responsible for any statutory body, associate
itself with the head of that
statutory body in the investigation of its organization, methods or
procedures;
Provided that, when
reporting to the Minister, the Commission shall ensure that a copy of its report
is sent to the Minister responsible
for the statutory body so
investigated.
(2) The Commission
shall, when directed by the Minister at the request of a Minister responsible
for any statutory body-
(a) provide or cause to be provided to that statutory body, management consultation services including advice as to efficient work and control methods and techniques, data processing equipment, and problems of organization; and
(b) furnish or cause to be furnished advice on and assistance with the training of the staff of that statutory body.
(3)
The Commission shall establish a co-ordinating committee for the purpose of
advising statutory bodies on levels of emoluments
and conditions of service of
their employees and in determining such emoluments and conditions of service a
statutory body shall
consult the co-ordinating committee.
Delegation of powers and functions
6.-(1)
The Commission may from time to time, either generally or particularly, delegate
in writing any of its powers and functions under
this Decree to a Commissioner
or to any officer.
(2) In any case
where the Commission has, pursuant to subsection (1), delegated any of its
powers to a Commissioner or any officer
that Commissioner or officer may, with
the prior approval in writing of the Commission, delegate such of those powers
as the Commission
approves to any other Commissioner or
officer.
(3) Subject to any
general or special directions given by the Commission, the Commissioner or
officer to whom any powers or functions
are so delegated may exercise those
powers or functions in the same manner and with the same effect as if they had
been conferred
on him directly by this Decree and not by
delegation.
(4) Every Commissioner
and every officer purporting to act pursuant to any delegation under this
section, shall, in the absence of
proof to the contrary, be presumed to be
acting in accordance with the terms of the
delegation.
(5) Any delegation to
an officer under this section may be made to a specified officer or to officers
of a specified class, or to
the holder or holders for the time being of a
specified office or of specified classes of
offices.
(6) Every such delegation
shall be revocable in writing at will and no delegation shall prevent the
exercise of any power or function
by the Commission or by the person otherwise
delegating the power or
function.
(7) Any such delegation
shall, until it is revoked, continue in force notwithstanding any changes in the
membership of the Commission.
(8)
Any investigation or inquiry which the Commission is empowered to conduct under
this Decree may be conducted by the Commission
acting in its own right or by a
Commission or by an officer or any other person specifically or generally
appointed by the Commission
to conduct the investigation or inquiry and to
report thereon to the Commission and for the purpose of any such investigation
or
inquiry all of the powers and authority conferred on the Commission by
section 7 shall attach to and may be exercised by the officer
or other person so
appointed and the provisions of the Commissions of Inquiry Act referred to in
section 7 shall in like manner apply in relation to the exercise of such powers
and authority.
(9) In this section
"officer" includes a person subject to the jurisdiction of the Judicial and
Legal Services Commission or the Police
Service Commission.
Power to summon witness, etc.
7.
For the purposes of carrying out its
powers, duties and functions under this Decree and the Constitution, the
Commission shall have
the same powers and authority to summon witness and to
admit and receive evidence as are conferred upon the Commissioners of a
Commission
of Inquiry by section 9 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act and the
provisions of sections 14 and 17 of that Act shall apply
mutatis
mutandis in relation to the powers and
authority vested in the Commission under this section.
PART III - MISCELLANEOUS
Annual Report
8.-(1)
The Commission shall as soon as is practicable after 31 December in each year
furnish to the Minister a report on the state of
the efficiency and economy of
the Public Service, and on the operations of the Commission under this Decree
for the year ending with
that
date.
(2) The Minister shall cause
a copy of the report to be laid before the Cabinet.
Regulations
9.-(1)
The Commission may with the approval of the Minister make regulations generally
for the purpose of carrying out its functions
under this
Decree.
(2) Different regulations
may be made in respect of different classes of
employees.
(3) Without prejudice
to the generality of subsections (1) and (2) the Commission may in particular
make regulations for all or any
of the following purposes-
(a) promoting efficiency and economy in the Public Service;
(b) prescribing standards of and conditions relating to office accommodation and the physical working conditions of employees;
(c) facilitating the classification and grading of posts;
(d) subject to the Higher Salaries Commission Act, 1983, prescribing the remuneration and terms and conditions of service and employment of employees;
(e) prescribing fees, allowances and expenses that may he paid to any person for carrying out any functions or duties under this Decree:
(f) prescribing the responsibilities and duties of employees;
(g) providing for the training of employees, the co-ordination of the training activities of Ministries and Departments, the award of scholarships and the conduct of service examinations.
General orders and saving
10.-(1)
The Commission may, in addition to making regulations under section
9,
from time to time make general orders covering the work and privileges of
employees for their guidance, assistance and
conduct.
(2) Different general
orders may be made for and in respect of different classes of
employees.
(3) It shall not he
necessary for general orders made under this section, which shall be for the
internal use, guidance, assistance
and general conduct of employees, and which
shall form part of the conditions of service of employees, to be published in
the Gazette.
(4) For the avoidance
of doubt, it is hereby declared that the General Orders in existence at the
commencement of this Decree shall
be deemed to have been made under this section
and shall remain as general orders made under this section until amended,
superseded
or revoked.
Instructions
11.-(1)
Subject to this Decree and any regulations made or continuing in force under
this Decree, and without restricting the powers
of the Commission, it is hereby
declared that the Commission may from time to time issue circulars or manuals
containing instructions
which shall be observed by
employees.
(2) The provisions of
an instruction issued under subsection (1) shall he deemed to have been
communicated to an employee when the
instruction has been published in the
Public Service Official Circulator in General Orders or any circular or manual
made and issued
by the Commission or, failing any such publication or issue,
when it has otherwise been brought to his personal notice.
Protection of members of Commission
12.
No matter or thing done by or on behalf of the Commission shall if the matter or
thing was done in good faith for the purpose of
this Decree subject to any
member or agent of the Commission personally to any action, liability, claim or
demand whatsoever in respect
thereof.
Offence to attempt to influence Commission
13.-(1)
Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4), any person who directly or
indirectly solicits or endeavours to influence the Commission
or any
Commissioner (or any officer to whom any of the powers or functions of the
Commission have been delegated under section 6)
with respect to its or their
decisions under this Decree is guilty of an
offence.
(2) Any person who is
guilty of an offence against this section is liable to a fine not exceeding
$1,000.
(3) Nothing in this
section shall apply to any person giving information or advice or making
representations to the Commission in
respect of any matter whatsoever at the
request or invitation of the Commission or in compliance with regulations made
or procedures
established by the
Commission.
(4) Nothing in this
section shall be construed so as to prevent any organization, being a recognized
organization representing employees
of the Public Service or any class or
classes thereof, from making representation to the Commission on any matter
affecting the salaries,
wages or conditions of employment of any employee or
class of employees.
Coming into force
14.
This Decree shall be deemed to have come into force on the 25th day of July
1990.
Made this 15th day of
November 1990.
INOKE TAKIVEIKATA
Person appointed to perform the functions of
the office of the President
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