28 Constitution and Administration
2. Reviewing Civil Service Pay and Benefits
The policy for civil service pay is to offer sufficient remuneration to attract, retain, and motivate staff of suitable calibre to provide the public with an effective, efficient and high quality service. In order that civil service pay can be regarded as fair and reasonable by both civil servants who provide the service and the public who foot the bill, the Government adopts the principle that civil service pay should be broadly comparable with private sector pay.
Broad pay comparisons are achieved through periodic surveys. Under the Improved Civil Service Pay Adjustment Mechanism, the Government conducts a Pay Level Survey (PLS) every six years; a Starting Salaries Survey (SSS) every three years; and a Pay Trend Survey every year. As the last PLS and SSS were conducted in 2006 and 2009 respectively, the next PLS and SSS are both due to be conducted in 2012. With the agreement of the staff sides and in line with the practice of the 2009 SSS, the Administration invited the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service in December 2011 to conduct the 2012 PLS and the 2012 SSS and to advise on how the survey findings should be applied to the civil service.
In addition to salaries, civil servants are eligible for fringe benefits depending on their terms of appointment, rank, salary point, length of service, and other eligibility criteria. The Government has been taking steps over the years to modify civil servants' fringe benefits in line with present day conditions.
3. Improving the Entry and Exit System
The 'New Entry System' for civil service recruits introduced on June 1, 2000 and modified on July 1, 2010 gives the Government greater flexibility in making appointments, while the new retirement benefits system, called the Civil Service Provident Fund Scheme, provides retirement benefits for officers appointed on new entry terms.
A 'Management-initiated Retirement Scheme' is in place to allow the Government, for the purpose of organisational improvement, to initiate the early retirement of directorate officers.
4. Providing Diversified Training
The Civil Service Training and Development Institute (CSTDI), under the Civil Service Bureau, formulates training policies and gives support to bureaux/ departments in training and development matters. The institute focuses on four core service areas: senior civil servants' development, national studies programmes, human resource management consultancy service and promotion of a continuous learning culture in the civil service.
Special programmes are offered to senior civil servants to help them develop as leaders. Programmes for attachment to, and exchange with, overseas organisations as well as municipal and provincial governments in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Guangdong, have also been arranged for civil servants to gain wider exposure. The CSTDI launched an enhanced training plan for national studies in 2011 to make it an integral part of training undertaken by civil servants at various ranks.