civil service pay rise 2022

The pay awards included up to 9.3% for low-earners in the National Health Service and an 8.9% starting salary boost for some teachers, although other increases, such as those for senior military and civil servants were less than half that. Public sector unions have reacted with fury after ministers announced that pay increases across the civil service would be pegged at an average of 2% for the year ahead, despite surging inflation. The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC) said in its statement that it welcomes the governments decision, which it believes "is reasonable given the difficult business environment". The Chamber said that the earlierrecommendations of the Pay Trend Survey Committee (PTSC) in May,which suggested civil servants of different levels might get a pay rise from 2.04% to 7.26%, has made the business sector concerned about"the burden of possible increases in staff costs that business will need to bear, especially SMEs, as a result of the ripple effect from civil servants pay adjustment". "The government promised rewards for the dedication of the public sector workforce during the pandemic. Frictionless talent mobility in the post COVID-19 workplace: Are you ready. | Contact Us | Newsletter | Annual & Transparency Report. The plan differs from a pay trend survey which suggested rises of up to 7.2 per cent. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, lifted a freeze on public sector pay last autumn, but the fresh limit for civil servants suggests the Treasury remains reluctant to loosen the purse strings. The Chamber is pleased to see that the Government has taken the current challenging business conditions and uncertain economic outlook into consideration in formulating the pay adjustment, it said. They are facing an even bigger drop in real-terms income in 2022-23 because while ministers have offered them 3% again, the Bank of England has forecast inflation to rise to as much as 8% soon. The proposed pay rise, which deviated from suggestions put forward by the 2022 Pay Trend Survey report, would apply to all grades of civil servant. She previously worked as a researcher at a local think tank. It was wrong to hold a secret hearing which decided that the will of Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth's late husband, should be sealed and kept private for 90 years, lawyers for a newspaper told the Court of Appeal in London on Wednesday. The Hong Kong returnees who want to leave again, A minority within a minority: Three ethnic minority queer teens navigate pride journey in Hong Kong, Ex-Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam's office to cost over HK$22 million in taxpayer money over 3 years, 8 Hong Kong students get perfect scores in university entrance exam, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. Theyre certainly unpopular. A CSB spokesperson saidthe CE-in-Council has thoroughly considered the staff side's response to the pay offers and other relevant factors under the established annual civil service pay adjustment mechanism, including the state of Hong Kong's economy; the Government's fiscal position; changes in the cost of living; the net pay trend indicators; and civil service morale. The government will meet with four civil servant consultative councils on Wednesday, and will aim to submit a proposal to the Legislative Councils Finance Committee during this legislative year, Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung said on Tuesday. widely criticised after last weeks spring statement. Follow us onTelegramand onInstagram@humanresourcesonlinefor all the latest HR and manpower news from around the region! 2022 Hong Kong news - Independent, non-profit, impartial. "The Government affirms the efforts of civil service colleagues over the past year. india water delta many sea thing around which being mangroves fish trees building British consumer price inflation is hovering around 40-year highs and is predicted to reach 11% later this year, contributing to strikes over pay that have already disrupted transport networks and threaten a number of other services. Garry Graham, the deputy general secretary of the Prospect union, said:With inflation rocketing, a national insurance increase coming in and energy prices going through the roof this 2-3% pay remit guidance means yet another crippling real-terms pay cut for civil servants. The director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank, Paul Johnson, suggested that with civil service pay already having been hit by a decade of real-terms pay cuts, the government was testing the limits of employee patience and of the labour market. The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce welcomed the pay adjustment, adding it was concerned about the higher amounts suggested in the Pay Trend Survey. Candice is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press. However, as reported byRTHK, Hong Kong's civil service organisations and staff unions, including representatives of the Hong Kong Civil Servants General Union, the Police Force Council, theHong Kong Chinese Civil Servants' Association (HKCCSA), and the Hong Kong Senior Government Officers Association, didn't agree on theresult and considered it as "unconvincing", "doubtful" and were "a bit surprised and stunned". quotes never someone money president between say land york those barack way down without something he would believe increase Thespokespersonadded the government willhandle the work in relation to the adjustment as soon as possible and has significantly compressed the work timetable, with a view to effecting the adjusted pay together with the back pay to civil servants in August. Sunak was widely criticised after last weeks spring statement for failing to do more to help protect workers against rocketing inflation, which is forecast to peak at 8%. What they have delivered instead, in real terms, is a kick in the teeth," Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite labour union, said. LONDON, July 19 (Reuters) - Britain announced below-inflation pay rises for millions of workers including police, doctors and teachers on Tuesday as part of a pay review for public sector staff that comes amid soaring prices and growing industrial unrest. The decision made on the civil service pay adjustment, however, has aroused mixed emotions from different parties. Click here for more information. Hong Kongs civil servants may receive a pay rise of 2.5 per cent, after Chief Executive John Lee and his Executive Council approved a proposal on Tuesday. Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. By contrast, the latest official figures showed average pay across the economy was increasing at an annual rate of 4.8%. The increases are part of annual pay reviews due for almost half of some 5.7 million public sector workers and come after more than a decade of freezes and constrained raises in many sectors. The toughest part of this job is not being able to do everything that people would like you to do because were already borrowing quite a large amount of money, and I dont think borrowing lots more would be sensible. But Yeung said that net pay trend indicators had never been the sole consideration in civil service pay adjustment, and that the government also took into consideration factors including the increase in the cost of living, and the economic situation. ALSO READ: Employees in APAC want more compensation, meaning, confidence, and autonomy at the workplace. Lam Chun-sing, unionist lawmaker from the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions, also said on an RTHK programme that apay rise of between three and four percent forcivil servants "would be more appropriate". The lowest-paid civil servants will benefit from the increase in the national living wage, which is going up by 6.6% to 9.50 an hour from 1 April. Patricia Marquis, the Royal College of Nursings director for England, said: This analysis is staggering and will give our members even greater worries about meeting the rising cost of living. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. The pay guidance to departments recognises the challenges of the increased cost of living, while balancing the need for sustainable public finances.. Actually, it has the risk of making the problem worse when youve got inflation and interest rates going up, he said.Some of these things are difficult. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; editing by William James, Alexandra Hudson, Secret hearing over Prince Philip's will was wrong, UK court told, UK gives go-ahead for EDF's Sizewell C nuclear plant construction, Britain launches free trade talks with Israel, UK empowers courts to stop powerful oligarchs from silencing critics, Get ready for tougher times, Bank of England tells banks, See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experiences on our website, to show you personalised content and targeted ads, to analyze our website traffic and to understand where our visitors are coming from. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. The suggestions in the report, published in May, would have meant a net increase of 7.2 per cent for senior staff, 4.55 per cent for middle-rank employees and 2.04 per cent for lower-ranked staff. With inflation set to top 11% later this year, the increases given to millions of public sector workers are being closely watched as ministers warn of the danger of a wage-price spiral and unions demand bigger raises for their members. When asked if staff morale would be affected, Yeung said she trusted that civil servants would understand the rationale behind the administrations decision. This article was amended on 1 April 2022 to include a statement from the government, which was received after publication. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Support HKFP |Code of Ethics |Error/typo? Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), said the offer was in effect a pay cut because of rising inflation and said industrial action could follow. As Hong Kong is progressing on a recovery path, Im sure our civil service colleagues will strive [with] their best to help the recovery, said Yeung, adding that civil servants contributions in anti-epidemic work and other areas were greatly appreciated by Lee and the council when making the decision. He told the BBC on Thursday he did not mind being unpopular because he was doing the right thing for the economy. These figures show why, said Sara Gorton, the head of health at the union Unison. |Contact Us | Newsletter |Transparency & Annual Report. Ministers are running around with their fingers in their ears trying to pretend its business as usual.. Views expressed by opinion writers and advertisers are not necessarily shared by HKFP. They were awarded the 3% last summer when inflation stood at 1.6%. Health workers need a wage rise that helps them absorb the eye-watering bill increases ahead. Government move shows utter contempt for service that has worked through pandemic, say unions. Public sector pay growth has lagged that of the private sector, averaging just 1.5% over the past year compared with 8% for the latter. In particular, during the fifth wave of the COVID-19 epidemic, over 140,000 government employees have participated in anti-epidemic work by undertaking high-risk duties at the frontline and providing backend support to the anti-epidemic effort, while at the same time strived their best to maintain public services for members of the public. Rishi Sunak in the Commons with Boris Johnson. By browsing our website, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. She has a BSocSc in Politics and International Relations from the University of Manchester and a MSc in International Political Economy from London School of Economics. seeks ictu Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. 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Police officers guard Chequers at the official country residence of the Prime Minister, near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire Britain, July 17, 2022. The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. The failure of the government to recognise the cost-of-living crisis is a disgrace and shows utter contempt to our members, who have worked themselves to the bone during the pandemic PCS will now be discussing an industrial response to this outrage.. Something went wrong. NHS staff are already consumed by money worries when theyre at work giving vital care. It is patients who pay the price for the governments shortsightedness.. "In view of the uncertainties in the economic outlook of Hong Kong and that the Government is expected to run a fiscal deficit this financial year, as a responsible government, we need to be prudent in handling civil service pay adjustment," said thespokesperson. A government spokesperson said: Its important that public sector pay awards are affordable, as well as fair to both staff and the taxpayer. Please refresh the page and/or try again. Once again the government is using civil service pay as a political football and attempting to balance the books by penalising the people who have delivered so much through the twin challenges of Brexit and Covid., Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA, the union for senior civil servants, said: The government has decided to abandon its own workforce and make no attempt to soften the blow to civil servants, who have spent the last two years helping the country through the health and economic emergencies. Hence, after balancing all relevant factors, the CE-in-Council decided to increase the pay at the same rate of 2.5% across the board.". But theyre responsible and will help us in the long term and Im not going to deviate from that just for some short-term popularity gain.. The expert analysts are telling government this is likely to lead to NHS staff losses and we know thousands of nursing staff are feeling close to quitting. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. Explained in data: What happened to Hong Kongs protesters? In a written statement published on Thursday, the Cabinet Office minister Heather Wheeler said public sector employers would have freedom to pay average awards up to 2%, plus up to an extra percentage point in some cases, to be targeted at specific priorities in their workforce and pay strategies. The civil service pay guidance covers Whitehall departments, as well as agencies and arms-length government bodies. "Pay awards this year strike a careful balance between recognising the vital importance of teachers, whilst delivering value for the taxpayer, not increasing the country's debt further, and being careful not to drive even higher prices in the future," education minister James Cleverly said. Otherwise theyll leave for better-paid work, which will be a disaster for patients.. Support HKFP | Code of Ethics | Error/typo? Meanwhile, analysis from the Health Foundation showed that soaring inflation meant NHS staff faced an average pay cut of 845 during 2021-22 and will see their income shrink by even more in 2022-23. The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) announced on 12 July 2022 (Tuesday) that civil servants in the upper, middle and lower salary bands and the directorate will see a pay rise of 2.5% across the board for 2022-23, with retrospective effect from 1 April 2022. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls. The fresh limits for civil service pay suggests the Treasury is reluctant to loosen the purse strings. 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Support press freedom & help us surpass 1,000 monthly Patrons: 100% independent, governed by an ethics code & not-for-profit, Hong Kong Free Press is #PressingOn with impartial, award-winning, frontline coverage. Staff lost at least 845 on average, although for some this was as much as 1,690, because their 3% pay rise was outstripped by inflation as measured by the consumer prices index, which hit 5.5% in February. Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts.