ENG-2003 — Page 48

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CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

staff having long and meritorious service. An Outstanding Customer Service Award Scheme was launched in 2003 to recognise the efforts and achievement of bureaux and departments and their staff in providing quality customer service to the public and to further promote a customer-focused culture in the Civil Service.

Civil Service Reform

In March 1999, the Government released a Consultation Document on Civil Service Reform. The main objective was to put forward proposals to modernise the administration of the Civil Service so as to make it more flexible and prepare staff to face the changes and increasingly demanding challenges in the years ahead and meet the demands of society. As a result of feedback received during the consultation, the Government has drawn up more detailed proposals in the various policy areas for detailed discussion with the Staff Sides and department/grade management through working groups that have staff representatives.

Following are the highlights of reform initiatives in four main areas:

1. Entry and Exit

On June 1, 2000, the Government introduced a new entry system and terms of appointment for new recruits to the Civil Service to increase the flexibility of its appointment system.

In June 2003, the Government implemented a Civil Service Provident Fund Scheme to replace the pension schemes as the retirement benefits system for officers who are offered appointments to the Civil Service on or after June 1, 2000 under the new entry terms and when they subsequently progress onto permanent terms of appointment. In 2003, the Government set the target to reduce the civil service establishment to around 160 000 by 2006-07. To help achieve this target, a general recruitment freeze was imposed with effect from April 1, 2003.

In July 2000, the Administration introduced a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) to enable staff of 59 designated grades with an identified or anticipated staff surplus to retire from the service voluntarily with compensation and pension payments. About 9 800 applications were approved. In March 2003, the Administration introduced the second VRS to enable identified or potential surplus staff in specified ranks/streams of 229 designated grades to leave the service voluntarily so as to reduce the civil service establishment and bring about long-term savings to the Government. About 5 300 applications were approved.

The Administration has since September 2000 introduced a Management-Initiated Retirement Scheme to provide for the retirement of directorate civil servants on permanent and pensionable terms to facilitate improvement in the government organisation.

2. Pay

The current pay policy for the Civil Service is to offer sufficient remuneration to attract, retain, and motivate staff of a suitable calibre to provide the public with an effective and efficient service. Such remuneration should be regarded as fair by both civil servants and the public they serve. Within these parameters, broad comparability with the private sector is an important factor in setting civil service pay.