More than 3,000 Hong Kong civil servants were disciplined for misconduct over the past five years, a minister on Monday said, revealing the number of government employees dismissed last year was almost double the annual average.
Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan also ruled out a proposal that authorities offer flexible working hours and childcare leave for staff, arguing the government needed to balance operational efficiency and manpower arrangements.
Yeung briefed lawmakers on the latest updates from her bureau and said staff would be expected to pledge loyalty to the Hong Kong government and the nation, a requirement that would be clearly defined in a draft of the civil service code set to be shared at a consultation early next year.
“When formulating policies, we must also have national interests in mind, while national security is the focus of our consideration,” she said. “We also have to be politically neutral when providing services to political parties.”
Hong Kong ex-civil servant loses legal challenge over failure to sign oath on time
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The minister added that a decision was still pending on whether the phrase “political neutrality” would be removed from the code.
Yeung said the city’s 174,000 civil servants abiding by the revised code would be well aware of the need to safeguard sovereignty, national security and development interests.
Government employees should also be dedicated to their duties, care about the public, embrace collaboration and teamwork, and act responsibly, she said.
The civil service chief said the bureau attached great importance to the conduct and integrity of government workers, taking a “zero-tolerance approach” against those who committed any misconduct or breached the law.
She noted that 1,124 civil servants were punished with formal disciplinary action for cases of serious misconduct or criminal conviction between the 2018-19 and 2022-23 financial years.
Action was also taken against 1,995 government employees over the same period for less serious behaviour, she said.
Among those formally disciplined, 195 were removed from the service, she said.
The minister’s figures also showed 60 civil servants were dismissed last year, almost double the annual average of 31 over the previous five-year period.
The briefing for lawmakers covered last month’s introduction of a streamlined forced retirement mechanism for civil servants who persistently underperform, with the new procedure cutting the number of representations from four to two and shortening the process by at least 10 months.
The minister also rejected calls from several lawmakers for the civil service to take the lead in encouraging childbirths by offering more benefits to staff with newborns.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu last week rolled out a series of measures to tackle the city’s record-low birth rate as part of his annual policy address, including a HK$20,000 (US$2,556) handout for couples with newborns.
Hong Kong civil service underperformers to be sacked in streamlined system
Hong Kong civil service underperformers to be sacked in streamlined system
But the civil service chief on Monday said increasing parental leave and offering flexible working hours was not currently possible.
“We are actually more generous than those in private organisations regarding the holidays that civil servants can enjoy and the maximum amount of leave that can be accumulated,” Yeung said.
“I hope colleagues can use their own leave to handle their personal matters.”
Yeung pointed to operational difficulties faced by government departments when flexible working arrangements were introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic and said there was a clear need for some staff to remain in offices.
Authorities also had no plans to increase paternity leave, currently five days, or introduce flexible work arrangements due to staff shortages, she added.
Official figures showed 3,863 civil servants quit in 2022-23, a 3.5 per cent increase over the previous year.