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Controversial civil servant pay hike on agenda of first ExCo meeting
The controversial discussion of the civil servant pay hike of up to 7.26 percent will be on the agenda of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu's first Executive Council meeting on Tuesday, according to The Standard's sister newspaper Sing Tao Daily.
The issue was pulled out of former CE Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's agenda last month, as she later explained it will be a matter for the next administration to decide on in order to give it room to maneuver.
A pay trend survey released in May had advised a pay hike for senior civil servants at 7.26 percent, middle-class at 4.55 percent, and junior at 2.04 percent. The increment for senior officers came under fire from public opinion as it is too high compared with inflation rates.
It is noteworthy whether the position of Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, the new convener of the Executive Council, remains unchanged.
When responding to the pay trend survey in May, Ip said she was “shocked” by the survey suggesting an over 7 percent hike for senior civil servants, and believed it is unlikely to happen.
She added that society could hardly accept such a pay raise for senior civil servants when many citizens are being unemployed or underemployed at that point.
Ip also criticized some civil servants at that time for focusing too much on the procedures and slammed them for “sidestepping risks without shouldering responsibilities.”
A pay trend survey released in May had advised a pay hike for senior civil servants at 7.26 percent, middle-class at 4.55 percent, and junior at 2.04 percent. The increment for senior officers came under fire from public opinion as it is too high compared with inflation rates.
It is noteworthy whether the position of Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, the new convener of the Executive Council, remains unchanged.
When responding to the pay trend survey in May, Ip said she was “shocked” by the survey suggesting an over 7 percent hike for senior civil servants, and believed it is unlikely to happen.
She added that society could hardly accept such a pay raise for senior civil servants when many citizens are being unemployed or underemployed at that point.
Ip also criticized some civil servants at that time for focusing too much on the procedures and slammed them for “sidestepping risks without shouldering responsibilities.”
