Policy under review: Secretary for the Civil Service Joseph Wong says the Government is considering extending the existing six-month sanitisation period for retired senior officials to take up private sector jobs to one year.

The Government will finish its review of the post-retirement employment policy for civil servants in March, Secretary for the Civil Service Joseph Wong says.

Speaking on an RTHK talk show today, Mr Wong said the review will look at whether the existing six-month sanitisation period should be extended to one year and whether senior officials should be allowed to take up a private-sector job while on pre-retirement leave.

In addition, it will also consider whether details of officials' approved post-retirement employment should be released regularly to increase transparency and enhance public monitoring.

He said once the review is complete, the bureau intends to seek legal advice to ensure that it is compatible with the present legislation governing the management of the civil service, and that ii is compatible with the basic fundamental right of retired civil servants seeking employment.

It will also pass the proposals to the Independent Commission Against Corruption for their Corruption Prevention Department to see whether or not there are areas which could be improved, he added.

Mr Wong said efforts have been made in the past few years to streamline the civil service, adding that the number of civil servants has been trimmed from 198,000 in 2000 to 168,000.

This move, together with the pay cuts and reduction of different kinds of allowances, has helped the Government save $10 billion a year.

Despite that, Hong Kong still has a clean and highly effective civil service team, he added.

Corruption reports, civil service prosecutions fall

Last year, corruption reports and prosecutions concerning government departments fell 17% and 24%, Mr Wong said.

On the issue of civil-service pay adjustments, Mr Wong said the Government will carry out a pay-level survey in the first half of this year.

He said the Government will strike a balance between the interests of civil servants and the expectations of the community when making any decision.