A union yesterday named the Government as the SAR's most unscrupulous employer because of civil service reforms which staff claim strip away workers' security and will lead to job losses.
In its annual choice of the top 10 labour issues of the year, the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions also listed the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) as the most important issue.
Confederation spokesman Mak Tak-ching said the Government should be rebuked for setting a bad example.
He cited a series of moves by the administration to save resources in the past year - including the voluntary retirement plan, lower pay for new recruits, the contracting out of government vacancies, and use of contract staff rather than making full-time appointments.
'A government is widely taken as a social model. When it started this series of moves, it was taking a bad lead and encouraging the private sector to follow,' Mr Mak said. 'At the end of the day, workers will suffer even more in what is a vicious cycle.'
In the top 10 labour issues, the Government was named in five - for the MPF implementation; failure to help poor workers; grassroots suffering despite the economic recovery; the mismatching of labour demand and supply due to inefficient retraining, and the voluntary retirement programme for civil servants.