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Government spending up 25% in the last 3 years

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  1. #11

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    Anyways, payroll is not the major reason the govt is 'going broke'...


  2. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by aw451:
    Our city is supposed to be fiscally conservative. That is at odds with paying fresh grad bureaucrats 55k+
    Unlike back home, I have found my interactions with the bureaucracy here to be dealt with relatively promptly and efficiently. Maybe paying well and hiring the best is actually a good long term plan?!

  3. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by GentleGeorge:
    Unlike back home, I have found my interactions with the bureaucracy here to be dealt with relatively promptly and efficiently. Maybe paying well and hiring the best is actually a good long term plan?!
    The people you interact with are not these high-flying well-paid grads - they're bog-standard civil servants, but you're right that they mostly do a pretty decent and efficient job...
    shri and aw451 like this.

  4. #14

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    Agree in principle that paying the public sector leadership well makes a lot of sense... the complaints in the UK whenever someone suggests MPs should be paid more drives me mad. It is so obvious we should at least double the pay and halve the number of representatives.

    But I never get the sense here that there's a prestige associated with working in the administration like there is in Singapore. And that's even before it became entirely toothless over the last 12 months. Shoes have been shined to the point there's nothing left to shine.


  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by shri:
    AO recruitment is very selective and competitive from what local friends have mentioned.

    https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...sing-questions
    Pay notwithstanding, other benefits and promotion opportunities have been severely curtailed in the civil service for new AO and EOs fresh to the job. A talented graduate is likely going to get promoted quicker in the private sector than in the civil service.
    Last edited by Coolboy; 07-12-2020 at 11:31 AM.

  6. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by Peaky:

    But I never get the sense here that there's a prestige associated with working in the administration like there is in Singapore. And that's even before it became entirely toothless over the last 12 months. Shoes have been shined to the point there's nothing left to shine.
    It used to be more prestigious in the past (the colonial era), because a local getting into the civil service means he or she can essential get a job for life with cushy pay and benefit. They don't have to worry about being laid off or being unemployed with no income for prolonged periods of time, as being in the government means they are shielded from the changes in economic fortunes that everyone else is exposed to.

    After the handover however, pay and benefits have been cut drastically for civil servants. The newer junior ranks also don't get the same iron rice bowl that their seniors enjoyed. Plus the fact political demands now often trump professional competence, and the net result is that the civil service is a lot less attractive than the pre-handover era.
    Last edited by Coolboy; 07-12-2020 at 11:42 AM.

  7. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by Coolboy:
    It used to be more prestigious in the past (the colonial era), because a local getting into the civil service means he or she can essential get a job for life with cushy pay and benefit. They don't have to worry about being laid off or being unemployed with no income for prolonged periods of time, as being in the government means they are shielded from the changes in economic fortunes that everyone else is exposed to.

    After the handover however, pay and benefits have been cut drastically for civil servants. The newer junior ranks also don't get the same iron rice bowl that their seniors enjoyed. Plus the fact political demands now often trump professional competence, and the net result is that the civil service is a lot less attractive than the pre-handover era.
    To add to this, most civil servants have very little transferable skills in the event they want to escape their middle class career path or find a job outside of HK.
    Coolboy likes this.

  8. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by tf19:
    To add to this, most civil servants have very little transferable skills in the event they want to escape their middle class career path or find a job outside of HK.
    Yes, that's the case for the junior ranks. But for the senior ranks, private companies do hire them after they retire or leave the civil service. The firms like the fact these ex-senior officials understand the ins and outs of government administration as well as connections to powerful figures in government. They want to use that to their advantage, for example, when they compete for a tender to provide product and services to the government.

    Yes, there is supposed to be reviews over conflict of interest and the officials are supposed to undergo a period where they cannot be hired immediately after leaving the civil service. But the perception remains that certain firms have too close and rather unhealthy ties to government thanks to these ex-officials sitting on their board.