Lawmakers split over 2pc civil service pay hike

Lawmakers were supportive of the government's decision to grant a pay increase to all civil servants, but several legislators expressed disappointment over what they viewed as an inadequate adjustment that failed to keep pace with inflation and private sector trends.

The discussion came after the Chief Executive in Council on Tuesday decided on a uniform two percent pay increase for the 2026-27 financial year, taking retrospective effect from April 1.

Some lawmakers believed the government's move diverged notably from the Pay Trend Survey indicators, which had suggested increases of 4.12 percent for senior staff and 2.64 percent for middle-ranking employees based on private sector data.

Lam Chun-sing questioned whether the Pay Trend Survey had become meaningless, given that while it once guided adjustments, it has rarely done so since 2020.

"If the final pay increase ends up far from the indicator, then in the long run, what is the point of the Pay Trend Survey? Will the survey become marginalised?" he asked.

Aaron Bok reflected on the broader erosion of civil service conditions, noting that departments have faced resource cuts of up to seven percent in recent years while being asked to do more work.

"They have fewer resources, but we demand faster, better, higher quality and more quantity to meet social demands. They work very hard, but when it comes to pay adjustments, they are short-changed. How can their morale be good?" he said.

Steven Ho cautioned that certain specialised professions face severe talent shortages, with market rates significantly outpacing government pay scales.

“Regarding the future discussion on the effectiveness of salary increment points, it ultimately boils down to two outcomes: First, will the attrition rate increase as a result, and will we see a loss of talent? Second, does it attract people to join our industry — that is, the civil service team?” he said.

Meanwhile, Nixie Lam offered a more supportive view, calling the two percent figure "very reasonable" given the current economic uncertainties.

However, she urged the government to better explain how the six factors are weighed, noting that many citizens only focus on the survey results and misunderstand the final decision.

While acknowledging that Hong Kong has seen economic improvement, Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung emphasised the need for fiscal prudence.

"Looking at the government’s fiscal position, we all know that last year there was actually quite a large deficit. It has improved somewhat this year, but we can also see that this improvement includes some one-off allocations that were transferred back from certain reserve funds,” she said.

“Also, after we completed this year's budget, due to geopolitical factors, there has been some pressure on people's livelihoods, and the government has needed to introduce some relief measures.

“So how will these things develop in the future? Will we still need to continue doing these things? Will there be additional expenditure? All of these factors mean that this year we have to be quite prudent when looking at the overall figures."

The proposal will proceed to the Legislative Council Finance Committee for consideration as soon as possible.

Edited by Tony Sabine ...