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A spokesman for the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) announced today (June 23) that the Chief Executive-in-Council had decided to freeze the pay for civil servants in the lower and middle salary bands; and to reduce the pay for civil servants in the upper salary band and above by 5.38% in 2009-10, subject to the proviso that no pay point in the upper salary band should be less than $48,700 (i.e. $300 above the upper limit of $48,400 of the middle salary band).
"The decision of the Chief Executive-in-Council has been made after taking into consideration the responses of the staff sides to the pay offers made by the Administration on June 16, 2009, and the relevant factors under the established mechanism, namely, the net pay trend indicators derived from the 2009 Pay Trend Survey, the state of the economy, the Government's fiscal position, changes in the cost of living, the staff sides' pay claims and civil service morale."
"The Chief Executive-in-Council has also decided today that the Public Officers Pay Adjustment Bill (the Bill) should be introduced into the Legislative Council for implementing the civil service pay reduction. The reduction will take effect from the first day of the following month after the month during which the Bill is enacted into law," the spokesman continued.
The Administration will publish the Bill in the Gazette on June 26, 2009 and introduce it into the Legislative Council on July 8, 2009.
Ends/Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Issued at HKT 16:58
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