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The Government has announced today (June 5) that the proposal to increase the remuneration for politically appointed officials (PAOs) will not be pursued.
The levels of remuneration for PAOs were approved by the Finance Committee (FC) of the Legislative Council (LegCo) in 2002. No adjustment has been made ever since. Subsequently, the PAOs accepted a voluntary pay reduction to demonstrate their commitment to stand together with the public in difficult times. At present, the levels of remuneration for PAOs are 5.38 per cent lower than those approved by the FC. Since 2002, the cumulative inflation has been 15.2 per cent. The Government originally proposed to increase the remuneration for PAOs serving in the next-term Government by 8.1 per cent on the basis of the level which took effect in October 2002.
"In the light of the views of the public and the LegCo, the current-term Government, with the agreement of the Office of the Chief Executive-elect, has decided not to pursue the proposal to increase the remuneration for PAOs by 8.1 per cent," a Government spokesman said.
The proposal to introduce an adjustment mechanism for the remuneration for PAOs, i.e. to make reference to the arrangements for LegCo Members, under which their remuneration is adjusted annually in line with the movement of the Consumer Price Index (C), will be submitted to the LegCo FC for consideration and approval before the end of the current-term Government. If approved, the mechanism will take effect from July 2013.
Ends/Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Issued at HKT 18:59
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