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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council (LegCo) Subcommittee on Members' Remuneration and Operating Expenses Reimbursement Commission (the Subcommittee) will hold a meeting tomorrow (February 7) at 8:30am to discuss the outcome of its consultation with LegCo Members on its earlier proposal to establish a mechanism to determine Members' remuneration by pegging to a certain percentage of the salary of a Director of Bureau. The Subcommittee plans to finalize its recommendations before the middle of February 2012 to meet the deadline given to it by the Independent Commission on Remuneration for Members of the Executive Council and the Legislature, and Officials under the Political Appointment System of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the Independent Commission) for considering the monthly remuneration for Members of the Fifth LegCo Term.
The Subcommittee, after initial deliberation of the findings of a survey among LegCo Members on their workload and their views on their present monthly remuneration and taking into account the practices of overseas parliaments, considered that the work of LegCo required Members to work full-time. It also noted the majority view of the 38 Members who responded to the survey that Members' monthly remuneration should be pegged to 40% - 50% of the salary of a Director of Bureau so as to reflect the complexity of a Member's responsibility and be able to attract professionals with ability and commitment to serve the community to become a LegCo Member.
In the course of deliberation, the Subcommittee noted that any increases in Members' monthly remuneration would raise the question in the community whether all Members should receive the same pay for the amount of time they spent on LegCo work. In order to ascertain all Members' views on the subject, the Subcommittee conducted a second round of consultation among Members, through the LegCo Secretariat, on the level of remuneration to be proposed to the Independent Commission and whether Members were prepared to accept a sliding scale to allow Members to draw a corresponding salary in accordance with the time they spent on LegCo work.
In conducting the consultation with Members, the Secretary General of the LegCo Secretariat conducted a series of discussions with Members from different political parties and affiliations, and also a briefing session for all Members and their Personal Assistants.
According to the paper to be discussed at the Subcommittee meeting tomorrow, there was consensus among all Members consulted that the demand for their time and efforts had been on the rise and they believed that the actual time spent on LegCo work would soon be well above the average of 59 hours per week as obtained from the recent survey. They considered that the work of a LegCo Member was no doubt a full-time job. However, most Members did not agree that there should be disparity in monthly remuneration among Members and they did not support a sliding scale. All Members consulted fully agreed that it was necessary to have an established mechanism which was acceptable to the Administration, the Legisature and the general public. All Members consulted did not accept the present method of setting Members' monthly remuneration at about Point 42 of the Master Pay Scale which was even lower than a senior professional, and was only half of the salary of a Political Assistant to a Director of Bureau. Members also considered the present adjustment by reference to the movement of CPI(C) not acceptable.
All Members consulted considered that the existing remuneration package offered to LegCo Members was not commensurate with their responsibility and it did not reflect the important role of LegCo in the political structure of Hong Kong. As Members are dealing directly with Directors of Bureau, Members' remuneration to be pegged against the salary of a Director of Bureau is appropriate. Nevertheless, all Members consulted considered that a monthly remuneration between $84,624 (30% of the salary of a Director of Bureau) and $141,040 (50% of the salary of a Director of Bureau) should reflect the responsibility of a LegCo Member and be able to attract professionals with the ability and commitment to serve the community to become a LegCo Member.
The Subcommittee will discuss the feedback from Members on the mechanisms in determining Members' remuneration at tomorrow's meeting, aiming at submitting a report to the House Committee this Friday (February 10). The report, if endorsed by the House Committee, will be put forward to the Independent Commission for its consideration in mid-February.
Ends/Monday, February 6, 2012
Issued at HKT 21:26
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