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Jimmy Cheung

Full consultation with civil service unions on possible pay cuts was pledged by Anson Chan Fang On-sang yesterday.

 Her promise came as a union was flooded with calls on the possibility after the results of a pay survey are ready in May.

 Mrs Chan, Acting Chief Executive, did not rule out a cut if results of the Pay Trend Survey found negative growth.

 'We have to see what the survey results show. We will also consider the economic and financial situation at that time, morale and stability of civil servants,' she said.

 She said the decision to freeze pay for 189,000 civil servants and 140,000 employees of subsidised bodies for a year, announced in Wednesday's Budget, was 'not an easy one for the Government'.

 'It's a painful decision,' Mrs Chan said.

 She praised unions for accepting a decision that she said showed all civil servants were fully aware of the pain the general community was suffering and were willing to take part with others as Hong Kong faced the most difficult economic situation in the past four decades.

 'I can understand staff unions' concern about whether we are setting aside a long established consultative machinery. And on this front I wish to assure them that indeed we are not,' she said.

 The Federation of Civil Service Unions said it had been flooded with calls from staff asking how likely a pay cut was.

 Chairman Leung Chau-ting believed the public felt a pay freeze was already harsh enough for public servants.

 'If our salaries are reduced, it will definitely trigger pay cuts in the private sector. This is not something the public wants to see,' he said.

 He was unimpressed by Mrs Chan's remarks that the Government had not deviated from the pay review mechanism completely.

 'I think she is just making a defence. The Government should have waited until the end of the pay trend survey to decide whether to freeze our pay,' he said.

 Mrs Chan said a comprehensive document on the civil service would be released for consultation soon.

 'I'm convinced most of the civil servants will accept that we need reform.

 'I hope they can fully participate and adopt an open and positive attitude to consider our proposals.'  Meanwhile, a survey by the Hong Kong Policy Research Institute said ratings of government performance had soared after the Budget.

 Respondents who said they expected its performance to improve in the next month increased to 18.6 per cent, up from 7.6 per cent in last month's survey.

 A total of 62 per cent believed it would remain the same.

 Last month's figure was 63.7 per cent.

 Seventy-three per cent said their economic confidence had improved because of the proposed Disney theme park project.



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Union swamped with calls from anxious members over possible wage reductions