THE Secretary for Civil Service yesterday defended the Government's decision to allow overseas-agreement officers to switch to local terms, claiming it was in accordance with the Basic Law and Joint Declaration.
Anson Chan Fang On-sang said the Government acted responsibly in removing inconsistent legislation pertaining to staff policy.
The Government would be evading its duties if it had left the matter to court, Mrs Chan said.
The local civil service staff unions have threatened to take the matter to court.
''On something as important as this, we think it would be totally irresponsible of the administration to leave it to the court to decide,'' she said.
''If, for any reason, we feel that, in staff management, we need more flexibility in the overall public interest, or [if] there is, in any way, inconsistency with the legal provision, the Government has the responsibility to take the initiative to put right the policy,'' she added.