The Administration announced on 18 December 2001 its decision to carry out a comprehensive review of the civil service pay policy and system with the assistance of the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service, the Standing Committee on Disciplined Services Salaries and Conditions of Service and the Standing Committee on Directorate Salaries and Conditions of Service. The objectives of the review are to identify means and ways to improve the civil service pay system having regard to best practices elsewhere, with a view to making it simpler and easier to administer, and building in more flexibility to facilitate matching of jobs, talents and pay.  The three advisory bodies subsequently set up a Task Force to take forward the review.

The review was conducted in two phases, with Phase One being an analytical study on the recent developments in civil service pay administration in five selected countries, namely Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom.  The Task Force published on 25 April 2002 an Interim Report on the Phase One study for public consultation. Taking account of overseas experience, the particular circumstances in Hong Kong as well as the feedback received during the consultation exercise, the Task Force completed the analytical study and submitted the Phase One Final Report to the Administration on 20 September 2002.

To gauge the views of civil servants and other interested parties on the Task Force's recommendations in the Phase One Final Report, the Administration conducted an eight-week public consultation which ended on 15 November 2002.

The Task Force suggested in its Phase One Final Report that priority should be given in the short term to devising a practical framework and methodology for conducting a pay level survey and to reviewing the pay trend survey methodology.   The Administration accepted the recommendation of the Task Force in this regard and embarked on an exercise to develop, in consultation with staff and on the basis of the existing mechanism, an Improved Civil Service Pay Adjustment Mechanism which will comprise the conduct of periodic pay level surveys to compare civil service pay levels with those in the private sector, the conduct of annual pay trend surveys based on an improved methodology and an effective means for implementing both upward and downward adjustments. 

The Task Force also made a number of recommendations on the long-term vision for the civil service pay system, the principles and practices guiding the determination of civil service pay as well as issues for more detailed study in the medium and long term.  The Administration will take a view on the way forward for these matters having regard to the comments received during the public consultation exercise on the Task Force's Phase One Final Report and the latest developments. 

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