Govt Defends Civil Servants' Drop-out Rate

The government has dismissed suggestions that civil service jobs are becoming less attractive, even though more than 1,000 public sector workers quit in the 2016-17 financial year.

Government statistics showed that 0.63 percent of civil servants quit in that period, down two-hundredths of a percentage point from the previous year.

Lawmakers at Legco's public service panel said they were concerned that public sector jobs just aren't as attractive as they used to be – and the resignation rate is more than three times higher than it was in 2002.

Federation of Trade Unions lawmaker Ho Kai-ming asked if this may be because new civil service hires are no longer offered pensions, or perhaps private sector jobs are becoming more appealing.

But the Secretary for the Civil Service, Joshua Law, said he is not too concerned about the latest figures.

"Over 60 percent of those have left the service during the probation years. It's due to a variety of reasons – could be that [they] decided that this may not be their ideal job or they encounter problems in adjusting into a new job ... But on the whole, the resignation rate has been very low."

He also said some 6,700 posts will be added to the civil service force in the coming year.

Another pro-establishment lawmaker, Kwok Wai-keung, also warned the government against complacency, and urged the secretary to see if there was anything the government could do to increase the jobs' attractiveness.

Meanwhile, the civil service chief also said the government has identified a site for its planned civil service academy, but refused to divulge the location.

After being pressed for its exact location by lawmakers, the secretary would only say that accessibility is a consideration, and indicated it would be in an urban district with good transport links.

DAB legislator Ann Chiang said the government should not rule out remote locations, with a better environment.

The college was proposed by Chief Executive Carrie Lam in last year's policy address to enhance training for public servants.