Sweeping reforms of the civil service pay system were proposed by a government-appointed taskforce yesterday which would see the annual review mechanism overhauled and pay levels brought in line with the private sector.
The taskforce also proposes linking pay to performance in the medium term and introducing flexible pay ranges. Senior directorate-level officials would be affected first.
The government is likely to face an uphill battle over the proposed reforms, with civil service unions already criticising them as an attempt to eliminate the existing system. Union leaders last night warned the government to adhere to the Basic Law requirement that civil service pay should not be 'less favourable' than before the handover.
Yeung Ka-sing, chairman of the taskforce, said the reforms should not be rushed, and did not commit himself to a timetable - but he insisted the pay system needed modernisation.
There will be an eight-week public consultation, after which the Civil Service Bureau will decide on the way forward.
The report released yesterday recommends that short-term priority be given to devising a practical framework for both a general review of pay levels and the pay-trend survey, which currently helps determine annual pay adjustments. The government should also consider interim measures to determine pay adjustments pending the outcome of the general review, the report says.