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A spokesman for the Civil Service Bureau announced today (June 12) that after consideration of the response of the staff sides to the pay adjustment offer, the Chief Executive-in-Council has decided that civil service pay should be increased by 4.96% for the directorate and officers in the upper salary band and 4.62% for officers in the middle and lower salary bands with retrospective effect from April 1, 2007.
"The adjustment rates are the same as our original pay offer, which the staff sides have accepted or acquiesced to. We believe that the adjustment, which broadly reflects the extent of general pay increase in the private sector over the 12-month period from April 2006, is fair and reasonable," the spokesman said.
"The 2007-08 pay revision is the first adjustment based on the pay trend survey (PTS) conducted under an improved methodology. We will continue to keep in view the operation of the improved mechanism in consultation with the staff sides," the spokesman continued.
Under the established mechanism, the annual adjustment to civil service pay is determined having regard to the net PTIs (derived by deduction of the civil service payroll cost of increment from the gross pay trend indicators produced by the PTS), the state of the economy, changes in the cost of living, the Government's fiscal position, the pay claims of the staff sides, and civil service morale.
The annual additional cost to be incurred for the civil service and the subvented sector following the pay increase is estimated at $5.29 billion. The Government will invite the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council to approve the pay adjustment next month.
Ends/Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Issued at HKT 15:19
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