Big firms' pay rises above 3pc, close to 9-year high Average salary increases remain near post-1998 highs, according to an Employers' Federation of Hong Kong survey of 126 companies with a combined workforce of 160,000. Of these, 55 had given pay rises averaging 3.14 per cent in the first two months of the year, down from the average 3.19 per cent rises awarded in the same period last year. The federation recommends 2.5 per cent. The other 71 expect to award pay rises averaging 2.9 per cent. Rises at companies that review wages in January and February have been going up steadily since 2003, during the Sars crisis, when they averaged just 0.09 per cent. HKIEd inquiry will decide whether to hear evidence The inquiry into alleged government intervention in the internal affairs of the Hong Kong Institute of Education will today decide whether to hear evidence from three academics and an examination authority officer. The four are Magdalena Mok Mo-ching, Pang I-wah, institute staff members; Ip Kin-yuen, a former lecturer there; and Yu Shu-tak, of the Examinations and Assessment Authority. All have expressed a desire to give evidence. Bird flu case no cause for panic, says minister Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food York Chow Yat-ngok reiterated that the infection of a baby girl in Tseung Kwan O with H9N2, a mild form of bird flu, was an isolated case and that the public need not panic. Dr Chow said that, of 6,600 samples taken from poultry sellers, 146 had tested positive for H9 bird flu. He said it was common in poultry but rarely jumped from birds to humans. Tsang's invitation cheers prize-winning chemist Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen invited award-winning chemist Che Chi-ming to Government House for tea. Dr Che said he felt encouraged by Mr Tsang's support for scientific research. The University of Hong Kong professor won the first class prize in the State Natural Science Awards 2006 in Beijing last month.
