60,000 will be covered in first phase of move to five-day week
Sixty thousand civil servants will be the first to benefit when the government starts phasing in a five-day week for staff from July, the civil service minister said.
Secretary for the Civil Service Denise Yue Chung-yee said departments would soon be given guidelines for making the first phase of the switch from a 51/2-day week, which would take 12 months.
'We expect some 50,000 to 60,000 colleagues will be covered in the first phase, rising to more than half the 150,000-plus staff eventually,' she said. The government has previously said the ruling will not apply to members of the disciplined services.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen has said he hopes the change will allow civil servants to spend more time with their families. But the standard 44-hour work week will not change.
Ms Yue said departments could decide if they would add the lost half day to working hours on one weekday or spread it evenly through the week. They also needed to see if the change would require legal amendments.
'For instance, some legislation may stipulate that they should finish certain work within 30 working days. They need to clarify whether the half working day on Saturday is taken into account. They should not breach the law inadvertently.'
Ms Yue also defended Permanent Secretary for Education and Manpower Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun, whom teachers want stripped of her portfolio. Mrs Law angered the profession by asking why, if education reforms had pushed two teachers to commit suicide, more had not taken their lives.
'I wonder if sometimes people are just criticising without grounds,' she said, adding civil servants only provided advice for policy formulation and ought not to be held responsible if things went wrong.
Meanwhile, anyone dissatisfied with the outcome of disciplinary proceedings against another senior civil servant, such as InvestHK chief Mike Rowse for his part in the Harbour Fest fiasco, could appeal to the chief executive. Without naming Mr Rowse, she sought to dispel the impression that Mr Tsang, who previously worked with Mr Rowse, would give him preferential treatment. 'The chief executive is familiar with many civil servants. But that doesn't mean that would compromise his impartiality.'
