HKU academic staff express discontent over retirement at 60 in forum with management and alumni
- University stands firm over 2016 arrangement that gives discretionary extensions with non-tenured roles rather than contract renewals
- Staff have called for raising the retirement age to 65, complaining that extensions sometimes do not reflect research performance
The management of the University of Hong Kong were bombarded with questions over the transparency and fairness of its retirement policy in an intense two-hour forum involving staff and alumni on Monday night.
Dozens of academics who attended the forum held by the HKU Convocation, a statutory body of the institution comprising all graduates and teachers, were told by management that the current contract renewal arrangement for those who reached the retirement age of 60 was in everyone’s best interests.
HKU changed its retirement policy in 2016, with those turning 60 being given a new contract and a non-tenured position if approved, rather than simply having their contracts extended like before. For some, the switch to non-tenured positions would mean a pay cut.
All applications from professors seeking to work beyond 60 go first to their department and faculty heads, who in turn make recommendations to a committee chaired by provost Paul Tam Kwong-hang or the vice chancellor, depending on the applicant’s grade.
Professor Joseph Chan Cho-wai, a recently departed university council member, was dissatisfied that professors reaching 60 could be treated very differently, some being renewed for up to five years, others for two to three years while others still are unable to continue their jobs.
He said that five years ago all would probably have got an extension of five years with the same staff benefits, had they applied.
A contract of only two or three years was highly discouraging, said Chan, who has worked at the university for 28 years.