Vital civil service roles to be retained and filled despite deficit: Ingrid Yeung

The government will not merge bureaux to cut civil servant positions amid the HK$100 billion deficit, Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan said. 

She also said positions vital to public services will continue to be retained and filled, including roles such as air traffic control officers and fire station commanders. 

Her statement comes as the government’s plan to reduce the civil service establishment by 2 percent each in 2026-27 and 2027-28, resulting in approximately 10,000 posts being deleted by 2027.

At a special meeting of the Finance Committee on Tuesday, Yeung addressed concerns about the current 10 percent vacancy rate in the civil service. She noted that while some suggested cutting vacant positions to save costs, she believes this would not resolve the issue and emphasized that essential public service roles will be retained and filled.

She said that the government’s workload is steadily increasing, while it also needs to cut expenses and reduce civil servants, necessitating careful planning within departments. 

Yeung stated the government will optimize civil service resources and enhance efficiency through management measures, digitalization, re-prioritization of tasks, internal reallocations, streamlined procedures, and the use of technology.

Lawmaker Lai Tung-kwok inquired if the government would reduce directorate civil servant positions through bureau mergers. 

In response, Yeung noted that 20 such positions have been cut in the 2024-25 fiscal year, but emphasized that mergers are not being considered solely for this purpose, as some departments have complex circumstances that may not suit merging.

Lawmaker Brave Chan Yung indicated that many departmental positions offer salaries higher than the market rate, suggesting that reducing these salaries could save costs. 

Yeung stated that the government aims for civil servant pay to be comparable to private sector salaries. 
She noted that if significant disparities arise, the government would conduct a review of the relevant job classifications.

(Cheng Wong)