Around 10 percent of civil servant spots still vacant

The government announced on Monday that it is still 10 percent short of filling up all its civil service positions, with some lawmakers suggesting reviewing the establishment numbers to be out of redundancy.

According to a document submitted to the Legislative Council by the Civil Service Bureau, there were 192,000 spots for the civil service establishment, with 174,000 posts filled. 

Executive Councillor and lawmaker Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung suggested that given the government is functioning normally under a shortage of hands, he believes cutting down the civil service positions might be acceptable.

Secretary of Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan stated that the government would review whether technology can substitute human labor to reduce employment and cut down the positions if possible. 

Yeung also stated that the change in the mentality of the young generation has become an obstacle to government hiring.

The civil chief said that new graduates and youngsters would prefer to have different job experiences, and the record showed that around 40 percent of the new hires have quit within the probationary period (three years) to try different types of occupations.

Separately, Yeung said 149 full-time non-civil service contract staff and 386 part-time employees have left the government after refusing to sign the declaration to uphold Basic Law as of June 30 this year.

She noted that there were 9,468 full-time non-civil service contract employees as of June, a decrease of approximately 9,000 compared to the historical peak on June 30, 2006.