'Oath For All Govt Servants May Lead To Legal Rows'

A civil servants' union said on Friday that government's plan to require all existing civil servants to undertake a new pledge may lead to legal disputes.

The government has said that it plans to get all civil servants to sign a pledge to uphold the Basic Law and be loyal to the Hong Kong SAR – and more importantly – to the government.

Leung Chau-ting, the chairman of the Federation of Civil Service Union, said if the government forces current employees to take such an oath, this could constitute a breach of their work contract that they had already signed when they joined.

He said if a civil servant refuses to take the oath and decides to resign because of the additional requirement, then the government may be liable for breaching the contract and may have to compensate the worker.

The government had said newly recruited or promoted civil servants will have to take the new pledge soon and Leung said the union won't object to this.

The Secretary for Civil Service, Patrick Nip, told union representatives at a meeting that the bureau would consult the Department of Justice over the matter of making existing government workers take the oath, said Leung.

The union leader said he believes some people will be reluctant to apply for civil service' positions due to concerns that they may not be able to speak freely.

He said the number of people applying for some positions has already fallen and said the number of applications for one post, for example, has dropped from around 30,000 to just 18,000 recently. But he didn't elaborate further.

He said he thinks it's because people are worried about the legal uncertainties and other constraints once they take up the job.

The union leader said even current staff may be worried that by taking the oath, they may end up getting prosecuted for saying certain things, or about being "backstabbed" by others for expressing their views.