Disciplined Services Staff Decry Pay Freeze

A group representing staff in the disciplined forces said on Wednesday that members are extremely disappointed by the government's move to freeze the pay of civil servants this year.

While the Pay Trend Survey Committee had suggested across the board pay rises for civil servants this year of between 1.15 and 1.98 percent, some unions were hoping for increases as high as four percent.

But on Tuesday, the Executive Council approved a freeze, with Chief Executive Carrie Lam urging civil servants to help Hong Kong "ride out this difficult time".

Bonnie Lo, who chairs the Disciplined Services Consultative Council, said on an RTHK programme that staff morale has been hit hard by the government's decision.

She also pointed out that the city's 180,000 or so civil servants have been left out of the government's epidemic relief package.

Meanwhile, Li Kwai-yin of the Chinese Civil Servants' Association criticised the government for its "short-sightedness" by freezing pay for just the one year.

Her group had called for a three-year freeze and on Wednesday she warned there's a good chance that civil servants will now see pay cuts in the next couple of years, if the city's economy doesn't bounce back quickly.

Li said her association may drop out of the government's Pay Trend Survey Committee, arguing that survey figures aren't objective enough and they cannot reflect the actual situation when there's a "special economic environment".

Addressing the unions’ concerns, civil service minister Patrick Nip said while no one wants to see a pay freeze, the government had already taken multiple factors – including staff morale – into consideration.

“They have taken into account the pay claims and also the views and concerns expressed by the staff side”, Nip told reporters.

He added that the administration fully recognises the contributions, and the dedication of government staff after a tumultuous year of social unrest and the coronavirus epidemic.

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