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The Administration announced today (March 19) that the Acting Chief Executive in Council decided to accept the recommendations of the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service (Standing Commission) and the Standing Committee on Disciplined Services Salaries and Conditions of Service (SCDS) that the starting salaries of the civil service should remain unchanged.
"At the invitation of the Administration, the Standing Commission conducted the 2012 Starting Salaries Survey (SSS), using April 1, 2012, as the reference date. The survey findings indicated that the existing benchmark pay of most of the civil service qualification groups (QGs) closely reflected the third quartile levels of market pay (i.e. the market P75 level). The two exceptions are the QGs for degree and related grades (QG 9) and Model Scale 1 grades (QG 10), with the market P75 level lower than their benchmark pay by 8.8 per cent (or $1,973 per month) and 5.7 per cent (or $580 per month) respectively," a spokesperson for the Civil Service Bureau said.
"The Standing Commission recommended that, as in the 2009 SSS, a holistic approach (as opposed to mechanical application) should be adopted in considering how the SSS findings should be applied to civil service basic ranks, having regard to the policy objective to maintain a 'broad comparability' between civil service and private sector pay, the nature of the SSS, the attractiveness and stability of civil service pay, the inherent differences between the civil service and the private sector, the inherent discrepancies in statistical surveys and wider community interests.
"Under the holistic approach, the Standing Commission recommended that the starting salaries of all civilian civil service grades should remain unchanged. In view of the survey findings, the SCDS, when consulted by the Administration, also recommended no change to the starting salaries of the disciplined services.
"Upon considering the stakeholders' views and the wider community interests, the Acting Chief Executive in Council decided that the recommendations of the Standing Commission and the SCDS should be accepted," the spokesperson explained.
"The Administration would like to express its gratitude to the Standing Commission for the time and effort it has devoted to the 2012 SSS. The Administration is also grateful to the SCDS for its advice on how the findings of the 2012 SSS should be applied to the disciplined services grades," the spokesperson said.
Under the Improved Civil Service Pay Adjustment Mechanism, the SSS should be conducted on a triennial basis. Its purpose is to ascertain whether the prevailing starting salaries of non-directorate civilian civil service grades are broadly comparable with the entry pay of jobs in the private sector requiring similar qualifications. The Standing Commission accepted the Administration's invitation in January 2012 to conduct the 2012 SSS and submitted its findings and recommendations (vide its Report No. 49) to the Chief Executive on December 18, 2012.
In line with the established practice, the Administration has sought the advice of the SCDS on how the survey findings should be applied to the disciplined services upon receiving the Standing Commission's Report. It has also conducted a six-week consultation on the findings and recommendations of the Standing Commission with stakeholders, including departmental management and the staff sides.
Non-directorate civilian civil service grades are grouped into 12 QGs having regard primarily to the educational qualifications required for recruitment purposes. Generally speaking, each QG has one benchmark pay set in the light of entry pay in the private sector for similar educational qualification as ascertained by the SSS.
Ends/Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Issued at HKT 17:13
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