Secretary for Civil Service Joseph Wong Wing-ping yesterday rejected claims that a period of economic downturn was the wrong time to conduct a review of civil servants' pay, unions claimed.
Union leaders said after meeting Mr Wong that he had given further indications that a review of civil service pay levels was on the cards - the first since 1989.
Hong Kong Civil Servants' General Union chairman Cheung Kwok-biu said he told Mr Wong a review should not be conducted in difficult times. He said civil servants already had increased workloads under the productivity enhancement programme.
Leung Chau-ting, chairman of the Federation of Civil Service Unions, said that although no timetable for a review had been mentioned, he hoped it would be conducted later.
'If it is conducted at a time when the economy is performing badly, a large pay cut would be needed. The lower and middle-ranking civil servants would be affected most. Their pay would be reduced by 15 to 20 per cent,' Mr Leung said.
However, Senior Non-expatriate Officers' Association vice-chairman Kwok Chi-tak said no indication had been given that a pay adjustment would be made.