About 60,000 civil servants will benefit from the five-day
working week scheme that begins on July 1.
The new arrangements, a major initiative to reduce work pressure
and to improve efficiency, will be introduced in phases, said
Secretary for the Civil Service Denise Yue.
In a year, as many as 92,6000 staff will be benefited when the
final phase of the arrangement will be completed by July 2007.
The working hours, however, will be prolonged on weekdays to
compensate for the loss of Saturday hours. Accordingly, some
less-frequented services will no longer be available on Saturday
from July 1.
The government, however, said reduced working days would not be
extended to all the civil servants due to certain constraints.
Yue yesterday announced that the five-day week would be
implemented in phases starting from July 1.
"We will maintain overall efficiency of government services.
Emergency and essential services will not be affected by the new
work pattern," she told a press conference.
But the government has no plan to make the five-day working week
mandatory, she said, adding that public bodies and the private
sector are free to follow their own arrangements.
Yue believed the five-day working week would generate economic
benefits. People will spend more money on eating out but it will be
very difficult to quantify the benefits, she said.
At the same time, some departments are planning to allow more
staff to work five days a week by way of duty roster
arrangements.
She said: "Although they do not necessarily take consecutive
days off on Saturdays and Sundays, it will help improve the quality
of life and family life."
But the most important thing is that services to the members of
the public will not be affected, she added.
"For example, the Observatory provides 24 hours services but
their staff work on roistered hours five days a week. Many
disciplined forces are also studying this and if things work out as
planned, there will be more staff working on the new pattern."
Rebecca Lai, permanent secretary for the Civil Service (Special
Duties), said the government would adhere to four principles in
taking forward this new initiative.
While incurring no additional manpower resources, no reduction
in the number of working hours per week and reduction in emergency
services, the government would continue to provide essential
services on Saturdays.
For example, licensing services of the Transport Department and
enquiry service centres of the Home Affairs Department on Saturday
mornings will be cancelled.
But more in-demand services will continue to be provided on
Saturday mornings, she explained. They include immigration-related
counter services (such as registration of births and deaths, ID
card/visa/passport applications), mail delivery and post office
counter services.
Members of the public have been advised to make greater use of
postal and Internet services, drop-in boxes and other payment
channels instead.
Lai also admitted 60 per cent of the staff from the disciplined
services and over 40 per cent of staff on the model scale one would
not be able to enjoy five-day week from July 1, 2007.
Providing five-day week for some staff within the framework of
unchanged manpower resources and unchanged weekly working hours
will hardly be possible, she explained.
Respective government departments will inform the public of
their new working hours and services. For more details, interested
parties can visit www.info.gov.hk/info/5day or call the 24-hour
hotline 1823.
Poon Wai-ming, chairman of Hong Kong Senior Government Officers
Association, said civil servants in general had welcomed the
five-day week arrangement.
As a doctor working in the Department of Health, he said only
half of his colleagues could enjoy the new initiative but they
would appreciate that services to the public comes first.
But Chan Cheung-yee, staff side chairman of the Model Scale I
Staff Consultative Council, said model scale one staff could hardly
benefit.
If the five-day week is implemented, they will have to work 10
hours a day. He asked the government to increase manpower to ease
their workload.
(China Daily HK Edition May 9, 2006)