Hong Kong proposes 2% pay rise for civil servants amid geopolitical uncertainty

Hong Kong’s top decision-making body has proposed a flat 2 per cent pay rise for civil servants across all salary bands this year, lower than the suggested rates for middle-tier and senior government staff.

Workers outside Hong Kong’s government headquarters. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Secretary for Civil Service Ingrid Yeung said on Tuesday that the chief executive and the Executive Council (ExCo) made the offer, which would take effect retrospectively from April 1 this year, based on a “prudent” approach to public finance.

Yeung said she would meet with staff representatives of the civil service on Wednesday to listen to their feedback regarding the proposed pay rise and report to the ExCo for a final decision.

The proposed pay rise, if finalised, will incur additional government spending of HK$6 billion, Yeung said.

“The government’s finances have improved in the 2025-26 fiscal year, but there are still huge financial undertakings for Hong Kong’s future development,” Yeung said in Cantonese during a press conference.

“Geopolitical changes can also affect residents’ livelihoods within a short period of time, warranting timely government intervention,” she said. “Due to the continued uncertainty in geopolitics, the government must be extra prudent in its approach to public finance.”

Secretary for Civil Service Ingrid Yeung. File photo: GovHK.

The 2026 Pay Trend Survey recommended a 4.12 per cent pay rise for senior staff and 2.64 per cent for mid-level government employees. It suggested a 1.17 per cent pay rise for junior civil servants.

Yeung said the ExCo had given “balanced” consideration to the matter when making the offer, and that the Pay Trend Survey was only one of the factors taken into account.

When asked whether the deadly Tai Po fire in November had affected the proposed pay rise, Yeung said it was difficult to isolate the impact of an individual incident on the ExCo’s decision, which she described as “holistic.”

The government resumed pay rises for civil servants this year following a salary freeze in 2025 amid a three-year fiscal deficit that strained public finances.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan estimated in his annual budget speech in February that the government could see a HK$2.9 billion surplus in the 2025-26 fiscal year.

The civil service last received an across-the-board 3 per cent pay rise in the 2024-25 fiscal year.