01 opinion
Written by: Commentary Editor
2019-11-22 18:13
Last updated: 2019-11-22 18:14Liang Meifen, a member of the Legislative Council of the National People's Liberation Federation, wrote an article on Thursday (21st), criticizing the government's 170,000 civil servants for not having "stopping the storm" and not raising wages. However, in the past, Hong Kong has always had an established mechanism to deal with civil service pay adjustments. Even if there is any opinion on this, the community should follow the right course and "declare war on the civil service" through the change mechanism. But for the true responsibility of civil servants, we must look deeper and not only use the salary advice to attract attention.
There are established procedures for salary adjustment
Liang Meifen intends to link the civil service pay to the demonstration storm, which undoubtedly raises the concern of the civil service. Indeed, all civil servants have a responsibility to find a way for Hong Kong regardless of their rank, but they should not be the scapegoat for the government's decision-making mistakes. If the crime is reduced, the Chief Executive Lin Zhengyue and his accountability team are not more guilty? Even the members of the formed system are not only the ally of the Government in the Legislative Council. They do not grasp and reflect the public opinion. They are not responsible for the anti-reform and the handling of the aftermath. Members are now "warning" to the civil servants. Even the middle- and lower-level civil servants who are in daily administration and handling documents are also required to pay a cold salary. Is this the proper responsibility of Members?
What's more, there is an established mechanism for civil service pay increases. If one or two members of the public cannot hear the opinions of several members of the public, the civil service team involving 170,000 people will be paid a cold salary. In 2007, the government adopted the civil service pay adjustment mechanism in accordance with the Executive Council. The mechanism will conduct three types of different surveys, including one annual pay trend survey, six annual pay level surveys, and entry salary surveys, which compare civil service starting salaries, The salary increase and the gap between the overall salary and the private company level. Members can make comments on the mechanism, but everything should be returned to the review of the established procedures. If an individual Member has an idea, he may wish to take the lead and propose a motion to commence the proceedings.
Bringing the mentality of civil servants to "socialism" will only bring social problems deeper and deeper. (data picture)
The frozen salary is also hard to beat "bureaucracy"
Liang Meifen said that only 30,000 police officers were seen to "stop the storm and riot" and questioned other civil servants who did not do their best. In fact, the real responsibility of civil servants is not to quell the demonstrations and "stop the storm", but they have turned a blind eye to Hong Kong's overall economic and social problems.
The artificial increase in civil servants is stable, basically increasing artificially year by year. As long as the civil servants have no merits, no winds and no waves, they can retire. The image of the "iron rice bowl" is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. This kind of system has caused some people to cultivate bureaucratic experience and lose the service of serving the people. Even if the society has already criticized it, it seems that it has not changed the civil service culture. Over time, Hong Kong's economic structure and people's livelihood issues have been complicated, and people's grievances have suddenly erupted in political disputes.
Middle- and low-level civil servants may think that they are limited by their functions. It is inevitable that they attach importance to administration rather than political work. However, with the promotion of posts and the increasing power of decision-making, bringing the mentality of civil servants to "socialism" will only bring social problems deeper and deeper. Even many accountable officials are regarded as elite executive directors (AO), but they have not been able to get rid of years of habits, and do not understand the root causes of social problems. The three-footed ice is not a cold day, and the entire government team has passed and can it be shirked in this turmoil?
Attracting talents with high salaries and making no mistakes. As stated in the government document, "the government's civil service pay policy is to provide sufficient remuneration to attract, retain and motivate people with suitable talents." However, the current performance of civil servant bureaucracy has been far from the "services that provide both effectiveness and efficiency." The Government and the middle and senior civil servants should reflect on this and understand that they have created a situation that is what they are today. After proposing a freeze on the name of "no riots", Members should also re-examine whether they really understand Hong Kong's governance problems and even reflect on the past governance of the Hong Kong Government. How many points of participation do they have?
01 opinion
Liang Meifen's Viewpoint on Civil Servants