HK Government Decides on Civil Service Pay Adjustment

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has decided on a civil service pay adjustment of 4.99 percent for the upper pay band and the directorate and 2.38 percent for the lower and middle pay band, as originally offered, the government said on Tuesday.

The decision was made after considering the staff sides' response to the civil service pay offer and other relevant factors, and, subject to approval of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council, the adjustment will take effect from April 1, 2001, the government said.

"We have followed the long-standing and well-established practice in determining the size of the civil service pay adjustment this year," a spokesman for the Civil Service Bureau said.

The pay adjustment approved by the Chief Executive in Council, reflecting the pay adjustment trend in the private sector during the past year, "is fair and reasonable," the spokesman said.

The cost of the pay adjustment for the civil service and subordinate organizations is estimated at 3,975 million HK dollars (509.6 million U.S. dollars) in 2001-02. Funding approval from the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council will be sought on July 6, 2001, the spokesman said.

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