Hong Kong’s civil servants are set to see a 3 per cent salary rise, the government has announced, as the city faces a HK$100 billion deficit. The pay rise will be implemented retrospectively starting from April 1.
The Executive Council, Chief Executive John Lee’s board of advisors, approved a uniform wage increase for civil servants of different ranks, Secretary for Civil Service Ingrid Yeung told the press on Tuesday after the meeting.
The 3 per cent raise was lower than the net pay trend indicators announced last month, which ranged from 4.01 per cent to 5.47 per cent.
The pay rise would also apply to teachers working in government-funded schools, Hospital Authority staff, and employees of social welfare organisations, Yeung said.
According to Yeung, the Executive Council had taken into account the economic situation in Hong Kong, the increase in cost of living and the government’s financial status in deciding the pay adjustment. The advisers also considered the net pay trend indicators, the demands of the employees and civil service morale, she said.
The city’s economy had regained its momentum after the Covid-19 pandemic and was expected to record further growth this year, Yeung said. Wages in the private market also recorded an increase, she said.
“In the last and current financial year, the government still has to face a fiscal deficit. The fiscal reserve will drop further. The government must adhere to the principle of handling finances prudently,” the minister said in Cantonese.
“A rise in wages would give recognition to the dutiful work of civil servants over the past year,” she added.
The final pay rise will be confirmed by the Executive Council after Yeung’s meeting with four civil servant representatives on Wednesday to hear their views on the salary adjustment. The government would seek to submit the wage increase proposal to Finance Committee for scrutiny before the legislature breaks up for summer vacation, the minister said.
In February, Financial Secretary Paul Chan estimated in the 2024-25 budget that Hong Kong would record a HK$101.6 billion deficit as revenue from land sales dipped. To limit the its operating expenditure from growing, the finance chief said the government would maintain “zero growth” in the civil service.
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