Civil service unions are likely to propose a new pay-adjustment mechanism based on seniority when they meet Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa tomorrow.
Leung Chau-ting, chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions, said he would suggest the new mechanism, which would help ensure a fairer way of comparing civil service salaries with those in the private sector.
'It is not fair to compare the pay of a government clerk who has worked for 20 years with a clerk in the private sector who has worked for just one year.'
Mr Leung said a source had told him that this year the government would not conduct a private sector pay-trend survey, which has usually served as a reference for civil service pay adjustments.
'This is because there may be a mild pay rise in the private sector, as the employees who survived the layoffs would have been given a pay rise to compensate for their increased workload,' he said.
Mr Leung believes that the government will instead conduct a pay-level review, which will probably indicate that lower and middle-ranking staff are paid too much, while senior officials are underpaid.
