ENG-2010 — Page 66

24 Constitution and Administration

staff, identify and groom officers with potential for advancement to senior management and develop a pool of talent for senior positions.

The Government values regular communication and consultation with staff. There are four consultative councils at the central level: the Senior Civil Service Council, the Model Scale 1 Staff Consultative Council, the Disciplined Services Consultative Council and the Police Force Council. More than 80 consultative committees operate at the departmental level. A Civil Service Newsletter is published regularly to provide an added link with serving and retired civil servants.

To ensure that Hong Kong continues to maintain a world-class civil service which keeps pace with changes in society, the Government introduced a number of reforms during the past 10 years. The reforms cover the following five main areas:

1. Maintaining a Lean and Efficient Civil Service

To help reduce the Government's operating expenditure, the civil service establishment has been downsized from its peak in early 2000 by about 18.7 per cent to about 161 000 at the end of March 2007. In accordance with the 'small government' principle, the Government continues to keep a watchful eye over the size of the civil service. New posts are only created when the need is fully justified and other means of providing services are not feasible. On the other hand, due consideration is given to the need for additional manpower resources for delivering new and improved services. Since 2007-08, the civil service establishment has increased by about 1 per cent annually. The growth forecast for the civil service in 2010-11 is about 0.6 per cent.

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 a 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 current system, the Government conducts a pay level survey every six years; a starting salaries survey every three years; and a pay trend survey every year. The system also includes an effective means for

for adjusting pay upwards or downwards. The

Government will continue to work out the details on this in consultation with the staff sides.

At the invitation of the Government, the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service conducted the 2009 starting salaries survey, using April 1, 2009 as the reference date. The Standing Commission tendered the findings of the survey and its recommendations to the Government in March 2010. After thorough consultation with the staff sides, the Chief Executive in Council accepted the recommendations of the Standing Commission, which included, among others, the revision of the starting salaries for degree and related grades to maintain broad