Wage increase of up to 7pc tabled for civil servants

Hong Kong’s civil servants may get pay rises of up to 7.26 percent this year, going by the recommendations of a panel that considers a host of factors, including private sector salary movements in the city.  

The 2022 Pay Trend Survey report, released on Wednesday, has suggested that the salaries of middle and lower-ranking civil servants be raised by 4.55 percent and 2.04 percent, respectively, this year.  

For the upper-ranking civil servants, the recommended pay rise is 7.26 percent.  

However, the suggestion from the report is not final, and members of the Pay Trend Survey Committee are still studying the report in detail.  

“Subject to [members’] analysis and deliberation, the [Committee] will verify and consider whether to validate the findings of the survey at its meeting scheduled for May 25. After that, [it] will submit the survey findings to the Government,” the report wrote.  

The Chief Executive-in-Council will then take into account the pay trend indicators derived from the report and other pertinent considerations, such as the state of Hong Kong’s economy, the Government’s fiscal position, changes in the cost of living, the pay claims of the staff side and civil service morale, before making a decision on the 2022-23 civil service pay adjustment.  

Last year, the net pay trend indicators for the lower, middle and upper salary bands were 0.48 percent, 0.49 percent, and -1 percent, respectively. However, the salaries of all civil servants were frozen last year following a decision by the Executive Council.  

Lee Luen-fai, the Pay Trend Survey Committee chairperson, said the numbers from this year’s report reflect the pay trend in 111 companies covering some 130,000 employees over the 12-month period from April 2, 2021, to April 1, 2022.  

The survey considers adjustments to the basic salary and additional payments awarded to employees of the surveyed companies attributable to factors concerning the cost of living, general prosperity and company performance, general changes in market rates, merit, and in scale increment.