Bill was delayed to allow service time to prepare for change
The Civil Service Bureau has taken the lead in putting into practice a provision proposed in the Race Discrimination Bill. It has removed its blanket language requirement for job applicants, the permanent secretary for home affairs said yesterday.
Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the bureau had - in anticipation of the release of the bill on Wednesday - promulgated revised language requirements last month.
'Appointments in the civil service [in the past] could fall under indirect discrimination because it required every civil servant to be recruited to have English and Chinese language proficiency on either Form Five or Form Seven level,' she said.
The revised policy provided a tiered regime, which retained the old language proficiency requirements for professional ranks such as administrative officers but for lower ranks, the requirements would depend on the nature of the job and academic qualifications.
For example, it would not make sense to require a park attendant to have Form Five-level English if the academic qualification for the job was Form Three, said Mrs Lam.
