The Chief Executive-in-Council proposed a two percent across-the-board pay increase for the city’s 170,000 civil servants on Tuesday, backdated to April 1.

If approved by the Legislative Council, the pay rise will cost about HK$6 billion extra.

Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung said the government had taken a prudent approach and considered all factors in a comprehensive manner in reaching this decision.

“[We have taken into account] factors like the substantial financial commitment that the government has to make for Hong Kong's future development, and also the geopolitical situation that has brought drastic changes to economies worldwide, the impact on Hong Kong's economy and the continual lack of a definite, clear outcome of those geopolitical tensions,” she said.

Yeung pointed out that the SAR government ranked second in efficiency according to last year’s World Competitiveness Yearbook published by the Swiss-based IMD World Competitiveness Center, saying this reflects the excellent quality of Hong Kong’s civil servants.

A reasonable salary adjustment will help keep up civil service morale and also serve as recognition for their work, she added.

Yeung said she would meet with representatives from several civil servant unions on Wednesday to gather feedback before the Executive Council makes a final decision.

The final proposal will then be submitted to the Legislative Council's Finance Committee for vetting.

A pay trend survey recently pointed to a 4.12 percent and 2.64 percent pay rise for senior and middle-ranking civil servants, respectively.

Multiple civil servant unions had proposed an across-the-board pay rise of at least four percent.

Asked how she would explain the lower than expected increment to civil servants, Yeung reiterated that the administration has to be financially prepared to meet future development needs and unexpected changes in the geopolitical situation.



Edited by Tony Sabine