A cut in the gratuity of government contract staff because of the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) scheme will dampen morale, unionists say.
A Civil Service Bureau spokesman confirmed government contributions for contract staff recruited after December 1998 would be deducted from their gratuities.
About 3,500 civil servants will be affected.
The MPF, to be implemented by the end of this year, requires employees to contribute five per cent of their monthly salaries. Employers will match it.
The spokesman yesterday denied claims the deduction amounted to a cut in benefits.
'The difference is they will not be able to receive the whole sum in a gratuity when their contracts expire. They can receive it after they reach retirement age of 65.' Principal Assistant Secretary for Civil Service Thomas Chan Chung-ching said: 'Contract staff do not have retirement benefits. The Government provides them.' But vice-president of the Chinese Civil Servants' Association Peter Wong-hyo said the MPF provided only minimum protection.