Hong Kong officials withdraw funding requests for 14 leading govt jobs, saving HK$29 million a year

text: Nine green groups in Hong Kong are urging the government to withdraw its Lantau Tomorrow Vision project. Photo: Felix Wong

© SCMP
Nine eco-friendly teams in Hong Kong are urging the governing administration to withdraw its Lantau Tomorrow Eyesight challenge. Photo: Felix Wong

Fourteen proposed directorate-stage jobs costing HK$29 million a calendar year in wages have been dropped for now immediately after the Hong Kong govt withdrew the funding requests from the legislature to help you save public coffers, official documents show.

Positions with accountability for railway protection, squander reduction and recycling initiatives, and boosting land offer ended up amongst the positions withdrawn from the agenda forward of the Legislative Council Finance Committee’s conference on Friday.

The withdrawals necessarily mean the next product on the committee’s agenda is a HK$550 million funding ask for for a preliminary review into the Lantau Tomorrow Eyesight. This is a 1,700-hectare undertaking to build a new metropolis on male-designed islands in waters off Lantau Island which will value about HK$624 billion.

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a group of people standing next to a person in a suit and tie: Patrick Nip (centre) said the government had considered lawmakers' views and the current economic situation. Photo: Felix Wong

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Patrick Nip (centre) mentioned the authorities had deemed lawmakers’ views and the latest economic situation. Picture: Felix Wong

Activists from nine environmental groups which include Greenpeace and Inexperienced Energy issued a petition letter on Thursday, accusing the authorities of withdrawing the funding requests for the work to pave the way for the Lantau challenge.

“The ecosystem in the region will be harmed,” mentioned Kate Lin Pui-yi, Greenpeace Hong Kong’s senior campaigner.

“I’ve noticed that numerous professional-institution lawmakers assist the proposal. I am not optimistic that it will be turned down. But I hope the lawmakers will understand that this is not a political problem, this is an issue about Hong Kong’s potential.”

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But civil assistance minister Patrick Nip Tak-kuen pressured at a briefing on Thursday that the funding requests were being withdrawn following the govt deemed lawmakers’ views and the current financial predicament.

“Lawmakers have experienced a lot of reservations about developing these posts, and some have opposed them,” he claimed.

a tall building in a city: The Legislative Council Finance Committee meets on Friday. Photo: Felix Wong

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The Legislative Council Finance Committee satisfies on Friday. Photo: Felix Wong

Some lawmakers had not been supportive of building these senior govt jobs while unemployment remained superior in Hong Kong, he added.

With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to batter the financial system, the city’s jobless charge has remained at a 16-year significant of 6.4 for each cent.

Checks of Legco data discovered that, in past Friday’s finance conference, the administration submitted requests to the legislature to build 14 directorate posts, costing up to HK$29 million in wages a calendar year.

They involved 10 D1 employment with a month-to-month shell out of HK$144,100 to HK$157,700 a few D2 work opportunities with a regular wage of HK$171,200 to HK$187,150 and just one D3 career with a month-to-month wage of HK$171,200 to HK$187,150. Wages for directorate posts are on a scale of a single to 8, with a D8 position paying out about HK$300,000 a thirty day period.

The Electrical and Mechanical Products and services Section had required to generate a D1 put up of main electrical and mechanical engineer and a different D1 publish of chief electronics engineer.

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The administration had earlier told lawmakers that these positions were necessary to support “tackle the public expectation on railway security, the expanding railway network, ageing legacy infrastructure and an raising range of passengers which sales opportunities to a greatly loaded railway technique”.

The Environmental Protection Department had wished to create nine directorate posts.

“To prepare for municipal stable waste charging and just take forward a variety of squander reduction and recycling initiatives, we have to create nine directorate posts to offer the necessary assistance,” it mentioned in a doc submitted to the legislature before.

The two departments did not react to inquiries by press time on Thursday.

Leung Chau-ting, chairman of the Federation of Civil Support Unions, stated the decline of these senior posts would barely effects the government’s procedure.

“Each individual of these directorate posts is just one particular of the users in a group. The crew will nonetheless be there,” he said.

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This post originally appeared on the South China Morning Write-up (www.scmp.com), the major news media reporting on China and Asia.