University staff union representatives said yesterday they felt snubbed by the government, which had endorsed a higher education report's proposal to deregulate their salaries despite strong opposition from them. In February, more than 5,000 of the 15,000 staff at Hong Kong's eight tertiary institutions signed a statement opposing an end to the link with the civil service pay scale. Secretary for Education and Manpower Arthur Li Kwok-cheung said yesterday he understood the concerns of staff but that delinking the pay scale would not be enforced mandatorily. It would be left to individual institutions on whether, when and how to implement it. He said the government would not cut back resources based on any savings the universities make upon severing the link. 'I understand the staff at universities are against delinking because they would rather play safe in a highly competitive market these days,' Professor Li said. 'But if savings from the deregulation are spent on research and facilities, that will be good for the institution and the students.' Lord Sutherland, chairman of the Steering Committee for the Higher Education Review, had said in releasing the report at the start of the year that breaking the link was a 'categorical imperative' as star academics could take up positions anywhere in the world. Professor Li said giving universities the freedom to determine pay would allow them to prevent their best academics from being poached by overseas institutions. But the vice-chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Higher Education Staff Associations, Chan Che-wai, said the flexibility was already built into the system. 'If they want to hire somebody well-known from overseas to work in Hong Kong, the current system allows them to pay as much as they want to,' he said. 'And any well-known researchers, if they want to come, they also want to know what kind of research facilities are available to them . . . if the facilities are not good enough, they may not come anyway.' Mr Chan rejected suggestions that savings from delinking the pay scale could be switched to research, saying: 'You cannot build up research on the cheap.' Professor Chan Chun-wah of Hong Kong Polytechnic University said deregulation of salaries could affect academic freedom. 'If your salary is determined by the head of department or the vice-chancellor, chances are people will not dare speak against the establishment,' he said. He added that he was worried that lecturers in less attractive subjects such as philosophy and literature would lose out because they lacked market value. But Enoch Young Chien-ming, head of the University of Hong Kong's School of Professional and Continuing Education, said delinking was the norm rather than the exception worldwide. Alice Lam Le Kiu-yu, who chairs the University Grants Committee, said it would ensure the system was transparent. The Heads of Universities Committee welcomed the assurances by Professor Li that the delinking would be at the discretion of each institution and that it would not affect the level of public funding received. The University of Science and Technology said it would consider delinking, while Baptist University's president, Ng Ching-fai, said he would discuss the issue with his staff. The Polytechnic University also said it would hold staff discussions. Graphic: STAFXGET