Some Hong Kong government departments are expected to cut the number of contract staff as authorities seek to reduce spending amid a deficit that is forecast to reach nearly HK$100 billion (US$12.9 billion), the Post has learned.
Insiders said some departments began reducing the number of contract staff last year and were expected to make further cuts to the Post-retirement Service Contract (PRSC) Scheme and Non-Civil Service Contract (NCSC) Staff Scheme
“Civil servants will then shoulder all the work done by the axed contract staff,” one of the sources said on Friday.
The insider added the government would not fire the workers immediately, but instead wait until the contracts finished and simply decline to renew them.
The NCSC Staff Scheme was established in 1999 to provide a more flexible approach for employing temporary and short-term contract staff.
