Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang said Tuesday the Executive Council will propose a pay cut of 5.38 percent for civil servants in the upper salary band, and a pay freeze for those in the lower and middle bands.

The 33 politically appointed officials and the chief himself will also take a voluntary pay cut of 5.38 percent from July 1 in a bid to "ride out the current difficult times," Tsang said.

The proposal will be sent to the staff side and the Executive Council will make a final decision once it has received the staff side's response.

Executive Council Convenor Leung Chun-ying also announced that the council members will also take a voluntary 5.38 percent pay cut.

Speaking at a press briefing Tuesday, Tsang noted that the political appointees' remuneration, which had been approved by the Legislative Council's Finance Committee, is fixed, without any annual adjustment mechanism.

"Despite the fact we do not have any adjustment mechanism and the pay is essentially a fixed pay, we are prepared to follow the pay trend which is for the senior employees in the private sector."

"We do this to show that the team of political appointees is fully prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Hong Kong to ride out the current difficult times."

Noting Hong Kong's economy has been badly hit by the financial crisis, Tsang said everyone has been affected in one way or another, and great challenges still lie ahead.

"In the circumstances, the team of political appointees hopes to make clear its commitment to stand together with the public and volunteers a pay cut. I am confident that together we can overcome the current economic difficulties," he added.

A spokesman for the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) said Tuesday that the salary adjustments for civil servants were proposed after the chief executive and the Executive Council mulled over several factors including "the mildly inflationary environment, the morale of the civil service, as well as the pay claims from the staff sides."

Source: Xinhua