Legco approves three percent civil service payrise

Lawmakers on Friday approved a three percent pay rise for all civil servants, with the increase backdated to the start of April. The government asked for HK$8.7 billion to cover the rises, which also apply to teachers and those working at the ICAC and other subvented bodies. A pay trend survey had pointed to increases of between 4.01 percent to 5.47 percent for civil servants of various ranks, but officials stressed those numbers were only one factor to consider. Several unionist lawmakers said the government needs to explain further why it decided on rises lower than the survey indicated. Civil service chief Ingrid Yeung described the three percent increase as reasonable. She stressed that a key factor this year is the administration's deficit, and its goal of achieving a fiscal balance in three years or so. "If we have significant expenses this year, it will affect the government's progress in trying to achieve fiscal balance. So we have thought about this. We have tried to strike a balance with different factors," she told Legco's Finance Committee. "But it is not the case that we will not follow or deviate from the pay trend indicators. It would depend on the circumstances of the year." New People's Party chairwoman Regina Ip said it's high time the government revamped the pay adjustment system for civil servants, saying some staff have left and other people don't want to join because workers get paid the same, regardless of their performance. She said Hong Kong could look to Singapore, which pays its government workers through different types of bonuses on top of a basic salary. The minister said in response that officials would need to consider such a move carefully, including whether the public would accept the idea of civil servants receiving bonuses. Yeung added, however, that she agreed officials need to work on ways to create more incentives for civil servants to perform even better.