Hong Kong civil service chief vows to relook presentation of salary changes in light of earlier controversy from pay-trend survey
- Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung insists 2.5 per cent proposed increment is effective, with high performers rewarded individually
- Comments come after earlier annual survey recommended a controversial rise of as much as more than 7 per cent for those in senior salary bands
The official in charge of Hong Kong’s civil service has pledged to look into how salary adjustments for government workers will be presented to the public, in light of an earlier pay-trend survey that sparked controversy.
But Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan also insisted on Wednesday that the salary-adjustment mechanism had been effective, adding that high-performers would be rewarded individually.
“The pay adjustment and how we treat individual employees are separate things … We have an annual increment system, and those who don’t perform will not advance,” she said, adding that her team was looking into making “reward schemes” more attractive.
Hong Kong’s key decision-making body, the Executive Council, on Tuesday rejected lobbying efforts by civil service unions and approved a 2.5 per cent pay rise for all government workers, citing the need for fiscal prudence amid economic uncertainties.
Exco, chaired by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, agreed to send the proposed pay rise, which will cost taxpayers an additional HK$6.8 billion (US$866.3 million) a year, to the legislature, where it is expected to be passed next week.
The rate is far below the 7.26 per cent jump a pay-trend committee had recommended for senior government workers, as well as a 4.55 per cent bump suggested for those in the middle ranks. The eventual mark was higher than the 2.04 per cent rise proposed for junior civil servants.
Critics, including the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, earlier slammed the committee’s proposal as “out of touch with reality”.
Hong Kong business group calls proposed pay rise for civil servants ‘out of touch’
At a special meeting of the Legislative Council’s public service panel on Wednesday, commerce chamber representative Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung said that while the 2.5 per cent pay rise for all was good news for civil servants, the bureau had to learn from the recent controversy and look into how annual pay trend indicators were set.
“It’s difficult to calculate the effect of companies closing down or employees on no-pay leave, and many people have said the pay trend indicators did not reflect the market situation accurately,” he warned.
“Would the bureau consider reviewing these indicators to make the survey more credible and persuasive?”
Yeung said the survey was only one of six factors used to decide civil servants’ annual salary changes. The other parameters centred on the city’s economic situation, the government’s fiscal position, inflation, morale and union demands, she added.
“Situations such as unemployment or company closures will be considered as part of the state of the economy,” she said. “In the future, we will elaborate on these factors and figures at an earlier stage, so the public has a more balanced view of the situation.”
Lawmakers such as Federation of Trade Unions chairman Kingsley Wong Kwok expressed disappointment at the size of the increase.
“This result, a 2.5 per cent pay rise, cannot be explained by other factors such as morale and inflation. The only explanation is the city’s economic situation – the government seems very worried about Hong Kong’s outlook,” he said.
Labour sector lawmaker Chau Siu-chung also argued that the small increase would make the government less competitive in retaining talent, compared with the private sector. Chau said some frontline employees had complained to him that the pay rise only amounted to a few hundred dollars extra per month.
“The bureau should remember what it owes civil servants,” he said, noting that consumer prices had risen by more than 2.5 per cent over the past three years.
Hong Kong Exco approves 2.5 per cent pay rise for civil servants
Yeung admitted that the city’s economic situation played an important role in considerations.
“This year, there are many uncertainties surrounding our economy and the world, the inflation rates in some foreign countries are high, the geopolitical situation is tense, and we have quite a large budget deficit. Yet, civil servants’ morale remains important to us too,” she said.
But she argued that the salary was only one of several reasons people wanted to work in the public service.
“Government jobs tend to be more stable, and are good opportunities for people who are talented in public administration,” she said. “We cannot rely on one single factor such as inflation. Problems will emerge if the government is in a bad fiscal position, while the inflation rate is high.”
The funding request for the pay rise is expected to be debated and approved at Legco’s Finance Committee on Friday next week.
