Civil servant declaration leads to a ‘backstabbing’ culture, says union chairman

The chairman of the Federation of Civil Service Unions, Leung Chau-ting, said the move of requiring civil servants to sign a declaration to pledge allegiance to the government and uphold the Basic Law has fueled a “backstabbing” culture among civil servants.

Leung revealed that ever since civil servants were required to sign the declaration, there were at least 10,000 complaints received by government departments over suspected violations of the declaration.

“I have heard there was a new recruit who had screen captures of his social media being submitted to authorities by colleagues, accusing the new recruit of having specific political statements,” he said.

Leung also said those 129 civil servants who refused to sign the declaration were “very brave,” putting their careers on the line to test the government’s bottom line.

He suggested that those who refused to sign the declaration may have only joined the government for a short period of time.

Meanwhile, Leung said civil service’s morale is low at the moment, with civil servants anxious about their future.

He slammed the government for failing to address the problem, questioning if authorities are encouraging such a ‘backstabbing’ culture within the administration.