Hong Kong’s clampdown on poorly performing civil servants could hurt morale, union says
- Federation of Civil Service Unions raises concerns after government briefing on speeding up process for sacking consistently underperforming staff
- ‘Society is too politicised and civil servants will easily get misunderstood for saying things that are deemed inappropriate remarks,’ union chairman says
A labour union has expressed concerns that the administration’s plan to streamline the sacking of consistently underperforming civil servants in Hong Kong could cause their morale to plummet.
The warning from the Federation of Civil Service Unions on Saturday followed a government briefing where it laid out its plans for reforming supervision of the 174,000 workers on the public payroll.
“The streamlined mechanism only serves to give a deterrent effect to underperformers, but they should be dealt with in a fair and square manner,” federation chairman Leung Chau-ting said.
“Nowadays, society is too politicised and civil servants will easily get misunderstood for saying things that are deemed inappropriate remarks.”
Those attending Friday’s briefing included representatives for four civil service central consultative councils and four unions for government workers.
Leung also raised concerns over a proposal to cur the number of opportunities for civil servants to respond to criticism over their performance following an annual appraisal from four to two.
“Underperformers should be given at least three chances to refute unfavourable appraisals and express themselves,” he said.
As part of the move to streamline the firing process, the administration has also suggested scrapping a step involving a panel review of a worker’s performance.
Under the current system, poorly performing staff members are placed under observation, the duration of which can only be extended once and under specific circumstances.
Any civil servants cautioned under the mechanism will have their pay increases suspended or postponed.
But the overhaul would no longer require department heads to set up and consult an “independent panel” to review consistently poorly performing staff.
Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, convenor of the city leader’s key decision-making Executive Council, threw her support behind the reforms, saying they should have been introduced sooner.
“This is a long overdue reform. Current procedures for dismissal or compulsory retirement are too rigid and take too long. The mechanism should be streamlined to increase public sector flexibility in hiring and firing,” she said. “I think fairness is assured, so long as civil servants affected are given a chance to make representations.”
Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan on Friday said the shake-up would not have “an adverse impact on civil service morale” and argued the current process was “too complicated and lengthy”.
Authorities needed to take decisive action to prevent underperforming staff from having an adverse effect on morale or government efficiency, she added.
Official figure show authorities took formal disciplinary action against 451 civil servants for serious misconduct or criminal convictions over the past two financial years.
According to the statistics, 35 civil servants were dismissed in 2021-22 and another 47 in 2022-23. The number placed on compulsory retirement stood at 17 and 13, respectively.
City leader John Lee Ka-chiu devoted part of last year’s policy blueprint to measures that would allow the civil service to quickly terminate any staff whose performance remained “persistently substandard despite supervision and assistance”.
The chief executive at the time said underperforming civil servants would only be forced out if they failed to improve after receiving counselling, training or support under other administrative measures.
