Civil servants to get 2pc pay increase backdate to Apr

The Chief Executive in Council (CE in Council) has decided on a two percent across-the-board pay increase for all civil servants for the 2026-27 financial year, with the raise taking retrospective effect from April 1.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Civil Service Bureau said the adjustment applies uniformly to the upper, middle and lower salary bands, as well as the directorate grade.

In reaching its decision, the Civil Service Bureau said the CE in Council weighed the staff side’s response to the initial pay offers against a broad range of statutory and economic indicators.

According to the established civil service pay adjustment mechanism, the review encompassed Hong Kong’s economic performance, changes in the cost of living, the government’s fiscal health, net pay trend indicators from the annual pay trend survey and staff claims and morale.

A government-referenced pay trend survey, based on data from over 100 private companies and roughly 155,000 workers, had previously suggested pay rises of 4.12 percent for senior staff, 2.64 percent for middle-ranking employees and 1.17 percent for junior staff.

A government spokesman said the CE in Council acknowledged the challenging environment civil servants have navigated over the past year, noting the city has seen “substantial growth” alongside modest inflation and an upward drift in private sector wages.

The spokesman said, however, that public finances must be handled cautiously amid global uncertainties.

"The CE in Council fully recognises the commitment and devotion of the civil service as a whole in taking forward various new and major policy initiatives and measures despite increasing workloads and challenges," the spokesman said.

"Nonetheless, the government needs to remain prudent in managing public finance to cater for future developments as well as unexpected needs arising from continuing uncertainty in geopolitical matters, which may affect people's general livelihood within a short period of time."

The spokesman added that, after holistically balancing all relevant factors, the CE in Council settled on the two percent figure.

The proposal will now proceed to the Legislative Council Finance Committee for consideration as soon as possible, where lawmakers are expected to deliberate on the budgetary implications of the salary revision.

Edited by Tony Sabine ...