New contracts for all staff are on the cards to reduce expenditure on salaries
Staff at Hong Kong Baptist University are bracing for pay cuts after the institution's head yesterday projected a $50 million deficit for the current academic year.
University president Ng Ching-fai said the staff would bear the brunt of the deficit as over 80 per cent of the university's recurrent expenditure was spent on salaries.
'We are expecting a less than 10 per cent overall pay cut. There is a need to review our salary mechanism in light of a shrinking budget, which is going to be slashed 10 per cent in 2004-05,' said Professor Ng.
The university last year set up a consultation committee to gather views and proposals from staff on future salaries and pay cuts.
Professor Ng said he hoped to achieve a compromise with staff before July, and implement the new salary system in September.
Several mechanisms had been considered by the committee, which included an across-the-board pay cut and specific cuts for certain teaching jobs.
