Public services grapple with staff shortage
The public service departments have almost 20,000 vacancies, with some having up to 20 per cent or more of posts unfilled as the number of retirees continues to rise.
The Civil Service Bureau revealed yesterday that RTHK, the public broadcaster, had the highest vacancy rate, with 175 posts unfilled – 23.8 per cent – and the police force had the highest number of jobs available at 6,837, or 17.9 per cent of its total establishment. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department registered a 20 per cent staff shortfall with 460 vacancies.
The Education Bureau recorded a 15.6 per cent vacancy rate with 983 posts unfilled.
Replying to lawmakers, the bureau said there were 172,549 civil servants across 78 bureaus and departments and 19,744 vacancies, a 10.3 per cent vacancy rate, in November last year.
It added an average of 5,100 civil servants would retire every year over the next five financial years. “According to the current policy guidelines, when the job nature, tasks and complexity of individual posts show a fundamental change, or when actual and sustained difficulty arises in recruitment and retention of talents, the government would consider the need for re-evaluation of organisational structures,” a spokesman for the bureau said.
A total of almost 4,000 civil servants from more than 200 departments quit over the 202122 and 2022-23 financial years.
There were 3,734 resignations in 2021-22 and 3,863 left their jobs in 2022-23.
But officials added that higher percentages of vacancies in some departments did not show the entire picture. “For departments with a higher turnover rate, most of them were smaller departments [within the government],” a bureau spokesman explained.
“This meant a small number of personnel leaving, such as retiring, would result in a high turnover rate.”
Government statistics also showed 1,124 public servants were punished with formal disciplinary action between 2018-19 and 2022-23. Offences included breach of government or departmental rules and regulations, negligence and supplying false information or documents.
There were also 600 cases involving criminal convictions.