The Chief Executive, along with the Executive Council, has approved a unified 3% salary increase for high, medium, and low-ranking civil servants, which is lower than the net salary adjustment index for public servants. The Director of Civil Service Bureau, Yang Hebei, stated that given the current financial condition of the government, it is not feasible to match the level of the net index. She also mentioned that she does not consider this salary adjustment to be inadequate, as it should help maintain the purchasing power of civil servants and allow them to share in the benefits of economic growth.
Annually, the salary adjustment for civil servants is based on the results of a survey on market salary trends, subtracting the “incremental salary points” within the civil service salary system to derive a “net index” for salary adjustments, aligning the adjustment closely with the private sector. This year, the net indices for high, medium, and low-ranking civil servants are 4.01%, 4.32%, and 5.47% respectively. However, the government announced a uniform 3% salary increase, below the net indices.
When considering the salary increase for civil servants, Yang Hebei emphasized the need to take into account the government’s significant fiscal deficit. She stressed the importance of considering the government’s financial capacity in determining the salary adjustment, stating that exceeding the affordability or worsening the financial situation of the organization is not a wise approach.
She further mentioned that this salary increase should not be seen as inadequate, as it essentially preserves the purchasing power of civil servants and allows them to benefit from economic growth.
Regarding the discrepancy between the salary increase and the net index, Yang Hebei addressed concerns about recruitment challenges and employee retention, especially with the current high turnover rate among civil servants and a vacancy rate of up to 10%.
She highlighted that the government has implemented various measures to enhance recruitment efforts, such as promoting recruitment to university students, conditional hiring, and recruiting from mainland China. She believed these measures would help alleviate the recruitment issues. Yang Hebei also mentioned that many government positions are attractive, citing feedback from job seekers indicating the interesting nature of work in roles such as the Observatory or Government Laboratory. She hoped that civil servants would combine salary increases with job satisfaction to continue being motivated in their work.
In response to the 3% uniform salary increase, the chairman of the Hong Kong Civil Servants General Union, Fung Chuanzong, criticized the lack of differentiation in salary adjustments for different levels of positions, particularly for lower-ranking civil servants. He expressed concern about the substantial difference between the 5.47% net index increase and the actual 3% raise, impacting the livelihoods of employees.
Multiple civil service unions met with Yang Hebei to express their views on the salary increases. Following the meeting, the Civil Servants’ Union Secretary-General, Cai Guanlong, expressed dissatisfaction with the proposed raise. Many members were disappointed with the uniform 3% increase, especially for grassroots levels where the discrepancy with the net index trend is significant. Despite keeping up with inflation, the raise does not significantly improve living standards, raising concerns about talent retention, especially with 20,000 vacant civil service positions and increased workloads for current employees.
The union will convene again to discuss and present counter-proposals to the authorities.
Yang Hebei mentioned that the government has taken into account the historical practice of aligning salary adjustments with the middle-tier, matching the lower-level increases to the middle-tier when their net index is lower. Over the past 31 years, in comparing the salary increases and net indices of the lower-level with those of the middle-tier, the cumulative increase for the lower tier has been 15%. This ensures that the salary of lower-ranking civil servants does not lag too far behind the private sector in terms of compensation.
The Honorary Chairman of the Hong Kong Senior Civil Servants Association and Chairman of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Employees Association, Li Fangchong, expressed disappointment on the lack of alignment with the salary trend index in the proposed increase. He hoped that the raise would at least be in line with the net index since it is based on comprehensive and detailed surveys covering various industries and companies, making the data reliable.
However, he also noted that the proposed raise falls in the middle ground, addressing the rising cost of living. When suggesting the raise, aside from the government’s financial capacity, he hoped that all other factors considered would be quantified for future evaluation and discussion with the government.
If the salary adjustment proposal is approved by the Legislative Council Finance Committee, it will be retroactively effective from April 1st.