Civil servants' pay increase endorsed

The Executive Council has proposed a pay increase of between 2.87 and 4.65 percent to almost 180,000 civil servants, says Secretary for Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan.

Middle and low-ranking civil servants are suggested to get a pay rise of 4.65 percent and seniors 2.87 percent, backdated to April 1.

The percentages are the same as the pay trend survey results revealed last month.

After the pay rise, a low-ranking assistant clerical officer with a salary of HK$15,950 will get HK$741 more a month.

Middle-ranking executive officers will take home HK$34,058 a month, up HK$1,513, and senior executive officers will enjoy a jump of HK$2,192 to HK$78,572 a month.

Yeung said the government will listen to opinions from the central staff consultative councils today before making a final decision.

The Executive Council considered the local economic performance, morale among civil servants and the government's financial situation, she said.

"The economy is recovering, but there are still challenges due to the uncertainties in the external economic environment," Yeung said.

"The government also saw a considerable deficit over the past and current fiscal years. The government's fiscal reserves will also continue to decline."

But Yeung refuted the claim that the pay rise lags inflation after the city recorded 2.1 percent year-on-year inflation in April.

"Over the past five years, the overall pay rise of civil servants is higher than inflation," she said.

She said the government will not rely only on pay rises to retain talent.

"I have served as a civil servant myself over the past 30 years," Yeung said. "The civil service jobs attract people who are willing to serve Hongkongers and they will stay in the team not only because of a satisfactory salary."

The chairman of the Federation of Civil Service Unions, Leung Chau-ting, said the rate is acceptable and can boost morale.

But senior civil servants should see a bigger pay rise as the turnover rate among them was the highest.

Leung said the government also needs to review the salary structure to attract new employees. He added: "The government only pays HK$14,000 for a clerk, which is far lower than the private market."

The president of the Chinese Civil Servants' Association, Li Kwai-yin, was disappointed at the pay increase, saying civil service is suffering from manpower shortage and the increase will not improve morale.

She said the salary of civil servants was frozen for two years in 2020 and 2021 and the increase could not catch up with inflation.

"The increase rate suggestion approved by the Executive Council was far lower than the 5.1 percent rise proposed by the association," Li said.

The Hong Kong Senior Government Officers Association was also disappointed at the rate of increase, saying the government failed to consider senior civil servants' demands and ignored their service.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com