Hong Kong civil servants deserve to be well-rewarded for efficient service

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Hong Kong civil service staff enter the government headquarters in Tamar, Admiralty. Civil service unions had called for a 5 per cent pay rise across the board, citing the huge government surplus and a good economic outlook. Photo: David Wong

Published: 7:04pm, 13 Jun 2018Updated: 12:31pm, 15 Oct 2020

I refer to your editorial of June 9 (“Pay demands of civil servants unrealistic”). Why must pay in the private sector be compared to that of government service and why should the private sector be “enraged” about the civil service demands for a larger pay rise?

People working in the private sector have bonuses, share options and 13-month pay. Those in the private sector work there out of choice. If they are “envious” of what those in the civil service make, they are more than welcome to join the public sector.

Prices in supermarkets controlled by the greedy private sector increase steadily every year and the cost of flats owned by property tycoons are now astronomically high. Are there any controls on these?

The editorial argued that giving staff a fairer share of the economy in times of a hefty budget surplus is not a good reason to increase public sector pay. Why not?

I recall that the Post, around the time of the Severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak, suggested that civil servants take a pay cut since the economy was not doing well and there was a drop in budget surpluses. At the time, there was a huge pay cut in the public sector.

Study calls for lowest pay rise for frontline civil servants since 2010

You claim that the civil service is “bloated”, “overpaid” and characterised by “maladministration” and “misspending”. Those are clichés, and where is the proof?