All of Hong Kong's more than 170,000 civil servants should get a pay rise of 4.12 percent this year, a union representative said on Thursday.

A survey of private sector salary increases recently pointed to such a rise for senior government workers, with its figure for middle-ranking staff coming in at 2.64 percent and that for more junior employees at 1.17 percent.

But Tsoi Koon-lung, president of the Hong Kong Chinese Civil Servants’ Association, said an across the board pay rise would avoid widening the salary gap between different ranks.

“We can see that the salary difference between senior and junior staff has already reached more than HK$100,000,” Tsoi told reporters following a meeting with Civil Service Secretary Ingrid Yeung.

“Giving everyone the same percentage increase would ensure that the pay gap between senior and junior civil servants would not be significantly impacted.”

Tsoi also described the civil service as "outstanding", saying this is demonstrated by government efficiency in the SAR consistently ranking in the top three in the World Competitiveness Yearbook published by the International Institute for Management Development.

He said Yeung will pass the association's suggestion to Chief Executive John Lee and the Executive Council.

The Government Employees Association, meanwhile, called for pay rises of at least 4 percent in a bid to raise morale among civil servants.

It said departments in general are short on manpower, and competitive wages will help attract and retain talent.

When setting salary levels, the government also considers its fiscal position, the state of the economy, cost-of-living changes, staff pay claims and civil service morale.

Last year, the government froze salaries.



Edited by Thomas McAlinden