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SCMP Reporter

CIVIL servants have put their last hope to resolve pay dispute peacefully on the Governor, Chris Patten, by demanding a meeting with him within 10 days.

    The move, agreed in an emergency meeting of nine civil service associations yesterday, is the latest step in the long row over pay.

  The request was contained in a letter, delivered to Government House, which said unions would go on strike if Mr Patten refused to meet them within 10 days.

  Staff have demanded an extra 3.52 per cent on top of this year's pay rises to compensate for what they consider to be a shortfall in wage increases in 1990 and 1991.

  The Executive Council decided on Tuesday that there was insufficient grounds to pay the 3.52 per cent increment.

  President of the 90,000-strong Hongkong Chinese Civil Servants' Association, Peter Wong Hyo, said they would demand that the Governor set up an independent body, either by calling a committee of inquiry or appointing a High Court judge, to look into the dispute.

  Mr Wong said the unions wanted to meet the Governor because he was the only person empowered to call for arbitration.

  ''We still hope to solve the dispute in a peaceful way and is now up to Mr Patten what the next move will be.

  ''But don't think our warnings are just empty threats, no one wants to be forced into a corner,'' Mr Wong said.

  Staff side chairman of the Model Scale One Consultative Council, Fung Siu-ming, said he hoped Mr Patten would react positively.

  ''We don't want to find ourselves and our employer at the opposite ends of the spectrum or else we will be forced to take drastic action,'' Mr Fung said.

  Referring to threats of a strike by rubbish collectors, he said: ''No one wants to see Hongkong turning into a 'smelly harbour' like Macau, but we can't predict what reaction the staff will have if the Governor fails them again.''   The coalition had also decided to boycott the meeting with Secretary for Civil Service, Anson Chan Fang On-sang, scheduled for Thursday because they do not think the Government will be sincere enough to listen to their views.

  Mr Wong said they had expressed their stand on the issue on numerous occasions.

  ''Also, if they really wanted to consult us, they should have done that before Exco made the final decision, not now. So we can't see any purpose in going to the meeting,'' he said.

  Members would also boycott the Community Chest Million Walk to be held in October, which will be opened by Mrs Chan.

  Blue-collar workers have been leading strike calls. The loudest protests are from municipal services workers,   , clerical officers and other low-ranking staff who consider a strike their only weapon.



Unions warn of strike over pay