Salary boost for police amid 'major changes, challenges'

Police constables should see their starting pay rise by HK$810 to HK$26,190, according to a salary review for disciplinary forces.

The starting pay for sergeants - who are outnumbered by constables - will climb by two pay points to HK$38,365 from HK$36,290. Their maximum salary will rise by HK$8,785 to HK$55,080 - the biggest jump among all the disciplinary forces.

The proposed raises are expected to get the green light in the Legislative Council's finance committee in August at the earliest.

Conducted by the Standing Committee on Disciplined Services Salaries and Conditions of Service every 10 years, the review has been revealed to Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and covered some 63,000 disciplined services staff belonging to 29 grades and over 100 ranks in seven disciplinary forces.

The report came after a wage freeze for 180,000 civil servants was announced for the second consecutive year based on a pay trend survey.

Most officers from the rank and file and nondirectorate officer grades will also see their pay points increase by between one and four under the proposal.

The minimum wage for constables will increase by one pay point, from HK$25,380 to HK$26,190, while the salary cap will increase by two pay points to grade 17, or HK$38,365.

By contrast, an immigration assistant of the same rank will have a HK$945 pay increase - from HK$21,780 to HK$22,725 - but the salary will be capped at HK$31,910. The committee also recommended granting one to two additional incremental jumps to staff who performed well at work.

It suggested including an additional deputy post in the departments of immigration, fire services, customs and correctional services.

Committee chairman Chui Hong-sheung said the recommendations were made after considering the uniqueness of the disciplined services, the major changes and challenges in the nature of their responsibilities and operating environment as well as the general trend of recruitment, retention and morale.

"If these recommendations are endorsed, the majority of the disciplined services staff would have their remuneration packages suitably enhanced in both the short and long terms, and the whole community would benefit from the long-term healthy development of the disciplined services," he said.

The Civil Service Bureau will submit the recommendations as soon as possible, aiming to table the final recommendations for Legco approval within the council's current term.

The 18-month grade structure review, which began in November 2018, was stalled because of the social unrest in 2019 and pandemic.

The previous grade structure review was conducted in 2008.

Dennis Ho Chun-pong, chairman of the Government Disciplined Services General Union, said they needed time to study the report, while chairman of the Immigration Service Officers Association, Wilson Lai Wai-sang, said the four unions under the Immigration Department were disappointed as the proposal did not level their pay points with other forces.

The chairman of the Federation of Civil Service Unions, Leung Chau-ting, supported the suggestions, saying the disciplinary forces should have a raise if they deserved it.

"The suggestions are based on the salary review, which has nothing to do with inflation," Leung said, adding that the public should not compare the disciplinary forces' raise with the pay freeze for civil servants this year.

However, he suggested that authorities conduct a similar review for other civil servants as no salary review has been carried out in the past 30 years.

carine.chow@singtaonewscorp.com