POLICY EXPRESS · PE-CSB-127 · Civil Service Bureau
Civil Service Pay Adjustment Mechanism
The survey gives three band-by-band indicators; the decision gives one rate — and the weights between them are not shown.
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2 pages · English and 繁體中文 · Built on the 1134211 Framework · Facts as at 25 October 2026
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The tension and our thesis
The tension
A survey of 104 companies becomes three net indicators; the Chief Executive in Council then weighs six factors and sets one rate. The indicators were positive in every band, yet the 2025-26 freeze came before the survey, and no weights are published.
Our thesis
A pay mechanism earns trust by showing how each factor weighed, not just where it landed.
Three policy problems this brief examines
- 01Fiscal timing can pre-empt the survey
- 02One rate meets three indicators
- 03The decision spreads beyond the service
Each problem is developed in three layers: the fact, why it persists, and the consequence for the system.
Three options compared
A · Keep full discretion (status quo): decide and announce one rate.
B · Publish the reasons (transparency-led): a band-by-band decision note.
C · Formula link (rule-led): net indicators within a fiscal ceiling.
The scored comparison, the justified recommendation with its phased measures, the implementation challenges, the stakeholder assessment and the success metrics are in the full brief.
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Both pages, in English and Traditional Chinese: the introduction and background, key figures, the three policy problems, the scored options, the recommendation with its phased measures, the implementation challenges, the stakeholder assessment and the conclusion.
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Facts and figures are checked against primary sources where we could retrieve them. † marks press-only figures. (J) marks IRB judgements. Facts as at 25 Oct 2026.
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