Transcript of remarks by SCS on civil service pay offers at media session (with video)
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Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, at a media session on offers of the 2024-25 civil service pay adjustment at the Central Government Offices this afternoon (June 4):
Reporter: So can you recap in English why the salary increase is just three per cent, which is lower than the pay trend survey, and why the increase rates are the same for every rank of civil servants?
Secretary for the Civil Service: The Executive Council has, in accordance with the mechanism governing the adjustment of civil service pay, considered six factors, namely the state of Hong Kong’s economy, changes in the cost of living, the net pay trend indicators, the Government’s fiscal position, the pay claims of the staff side, as well as the morale of the civil servants. We believe that this is a balanced decision taking into account all those six factors and the specific circumstances of this year. We note that the pay offers are some way behind the net pay trend indicators, but given all the six factors taking into consideration as a whole, we believe that this is an appropriate decision for this year.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)