This letter was sent to Chairmen of Government Engineers Staff Associations (see distribution list) on 22 June 2007

Conversion arrangements for serving Engineers regarding
the proposed adjustment to starting salaries of their Grades

I enclose for your information a copy of my recent letter (without attachments) addressed to the Chairman of the Establishment Subcommittee of the Legislative Council, the Honourable Li Fung-ying, which is self-explanatory.

As stated in paragraphs 6 to 8 of the letter, I make the following proposals:

1) Reviewing the unfair part of the conversation arrangement and to reimburse Engineers and Environmental Protection Officers with the same pay as all the civil servants in the past and in the future, recognizing their years of in-service post-qualification experience on top of the adjusted starting salary;

2) Raising the starting salaries of the Non Civil Servant Contract Engineers/Assistant Engineers that have been lowered since 1999 Starting Salaries Survey, in conjunction with the proposed adjustments;

3) Reviewing and reverting the Engineering graduates’starting salary from $10,700 to the former $16,095.

Meanwhile, the Establishment Subcommittee, of which I am member, passed the following motion moved by me at its 13 June 2007 meeting.

“This Subcommittee requests that the Government, when implementing the revised benchmark pay for the nine Qualification Groups (QGs), should link the pay of the civil servants in these QGs who were appointed on or after 1 April 2000 to the pay of those in the same QGs but appointed after 1 August 2007 in accordance with their years of service.”

I will continue to keep you informed about the subject.

(signed)
Ir Dr the Honourable Raymond Ho Chung-tai