33 civil servants handled under poor-performance mechanism
SingTao · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago4 MIN
Summary
Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan (楊何蓓茵) said on Tuesday morning that civil service jobs are not a “guaranteed rice bowl” if officers repeatedly fail to meet the output expected at their rank. She said 33 cases of persistent underperformance have been handled since the government streamlined its mechanism in September 2023, a sharp increase from the previous pace of only one or two cases a year
Key Points
- Speaking on a radio programme on September 22, Yeung said officers whose performance remains below standard over time can ultimately be ordered to retire
- Yeung said departments first provide counselling and training, but if no improvement is seen within a specified period, promotion prospects and appraisal reports will be affected
- Under the old system, a single long-term poor-performance case could take more than 30 months to complete, discouraging departments from pursuing action
- Since the September 2023 simplification, 33 cases have been processed in three years; some officers were ordered to retire, while others resigned voluntarily
- Yeung said department heads and senior managers are accountable for both their own performance and that of their teams, and supervisors who avoid reporting problems may also face accountability
Why It Matters
The figures suggest the government is trying to make performance management in the civil service more enforceable, rather than leaving weak cases unresolved because procedures are too slow. Yeung paired that message with family-friendly measures and training promises, indicating the administration wants stricter accountability while still competing to recruit and retain staff