Civil service pay - too much, or a way of curbing corruption?
I agree with Rob Leung ('Civil servants paid too much', December 3).
Civil servants enjoy a lot of benefits including, for example, free medical checks and education subsidies for their children. They have secure jobs even in a financial crisis. However, many employees of private companies have been laid off or had their salaries cut and this is unfair.
I accept that civil servants may not get a pay rise this year. But they are already paid more, on average, than their counterparts in private firms. Also, civil servants work a five-day week and surveys have revealed this is rare in many countries.
Civil servants do not have to worry about overtime. At 5pm they leave their offices. All this is not good for the Hong Kong government. Because of their working conditions they have less incentive to work hard and this adversely affects their productivity.
The government should take prompt action and set civil servants' salaries at a suitable level, if it wants to avoid social unrest.
Nelson Tam Kai-him, Tseung Kwan O
I find it hard to agree with Rob Leung's letter ('Civil servants paid too much', December 3).
Civil servants are well paid not to ensure they work efficiently, but for a much more important reason.
The government provides us with different services. Its work is done by civil servants.
Corruption may occur within a bureaucracy which will disrupt the functions of government.
Civil servants are paid higher than the market rate in order to prevent such corruption.
Singapore has adopted a similar policy and has a world-renowned reputation for clean government. If such a policy works I see no reason to change it.
Also some civil service jobs put people under severe pressure, such as firemen and police officers. Morale must be good so that the quality of their work is of a high standard.
Civil servants deserve good salaries and we should consider paying them even more.
Given our economic problems we need a civil service with high morale.
Elvis Man, Tai Po
