The civil service should not be blamed for the structural deficit, unions said yesterday.
Cecilia So Chui-kuen, president of the Chinese Civil Servants' Association, said the Government had been unfair in claiming that expenditure on the civil service accounted for 68 per cent of operating expenditure.
'The percentage also covers the subvented groups,' she said. 'It should not point an accusing finger at us.'
Federation of Civil Service Unions chairman Leung Chau-ting said he was worried the Government would use the deficit as an excuse to speed up cutting the civil service.
'It seems downsizing is something they will do. No matter what, low-ranking civil servant must not be the only target. Senior officials should also bear some of the pain,' he said.
Cheung Kwok-biu, chairman of the Hong Kong Civil Servants' General Union, said the Government was too pessimistic. 'The economy is going to pick up.'