1993 Edition -
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Preliminary
101. General Orders are Orders of the Public Service Commission and authority
for their interpretation is vested in the Commission.
102. General Orders prescribe the terms and conditions of service of Public
Officers and certain procedures to be followed in dealing with staffing and
other matters in the Public Service. The Orders should be read with relevant
laws, particularly the Constitution of the Sovereign Democratic Republic of
Fiji, 1990, Public Service Decree 1990, Public Service Commission (Constitution)
Regulations, 1990, Public Service (Statutory) Regulations, 1990, Public Service
(Personal Grievance Procedure) Regulations, 1990 and PSC Delegation of Powers.
103. General Orders are applicable to all Public Officers including Temporary
Officers and Officers serving on Contract or Agreement, i.e. salaried officers
whether on the pensionable or non-pensionable establishment (which excludes
casual employees on daily or weekly rates of pay), except in so far as:
(a) The contrary intention appears in these General Orders.
(b) Alternative provision is made for an Officer in a Decree or an Act of
Parliament,
or in a Regulation, By -law or Order made under a Decree or an Act of Parliament.
(c)The Officer is excluded by the terms of his appointment from General Orders
or from any one of them.
While for convenience, General Orders are worded so as to refer to officers
in the masculine gender, they are equally applicable to female officers.
104. Non-compliance with, or disobedience of, a General Order may form the
basis of a disciplinary charge.
105. General Orders may be supplemented or amended from time to time. Such
additions and amendments have equal validity with, and are issued under the
same conditions as, General Orders.
Miscellaneous
106. It is the duty of all Officers to be thoroughly acquainted with General
Orders and the contents of all amendments and additions to them.
107. General Orders should be readily available in every Ministry and Department
for reference by all Officers and it is the duty of Permanent Secretaries
and Heads of Departments to ensure that all Officers have reasonable access
to a copy.
108. Like all official documents, copies of General Orders provided for the
use of Departments are not to be regarded as the property of individuals,
but as part of the equipment of the Government Office for which copies are
provided. Officers are encouraged to purchase personal copies of General Orders
from Government Printer. It is the duty of Heads of Departments to ensure
that official copies of General Orders are not retained by Officers when they
are transferred to another Department or when leaving the Public Service.
109. Additional office copies for any Ministry or Department should be obtained
from Government printer.
110. Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments are responsible for ensuring
that amendments and additions to office copies of General Orders are made
immediately after they received and that all copies are kept up to date.
111. Amendments will he made through PSC Circulars. The Public Service Commission
will issue the amendment(s) for replacement of the existing Orders, together
with a periodic check list of the amendments which have been made.