Grade Structure Review for Veterinary Laboratory Technician and Medical Laboratory Technician grades

     The Government announced today (September 23) that the Chief Executive-in-Council (CE-in-Council) has decided to accept in full the recommendations made by the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service in its Report No. 61 on the Grade Structure Review (GSR) for the Veterinary Laboratory Technician (VLT) grade of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) and the Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT) grade of the Department of Health (DH), as well as the conversion arrangements proposed by the Government. The Government will seek the approval of the Legislative Council (LegCo) for the recommendations later on. The pay-related recommendations will be implemented with effect from the first day of the month immediately following the month of approval by the LegCo or June 1, 2021, whichever is the later.
 
     "In reaching this decision, the CE-in-Council has considered a number of relevant factors, including the review findings and recommendations of the Standing Commission, views of the departmental managements and the staff side of the two grades as well as the wider community interests. The CE-in-Council reckoned that the recommendations of the Standing Commission are reasonable and well justified for tackling the recruitment difficulties and retention problems faced by the VLT and MLT grades. The Government will seek the approval of the LegCo as soon as possible," a spokesman for the Civil Service Bureau said. 
 
     "The Government would like to express its sincere gratitude to the Standing Commission for its in-depth analysis and thorough consultation with stakeholders in the course of conducting the GSR, as well as the pragmatic recommendations that it has come up with. The Government is also grateful to all the stakeholders for their valuable input," the spokesman continued.
 
     The Standing Commission submitted its Report No. 61 on the GSR for the VLT and MLT grades to the Chief Executive on July 26, 2019. The Standing Commission's major recommendations include (a) raising the entry requirement of the VLT and MLT grades to Higher Diploma level and reclassifying their qualification grouping from Qualification Group (QG) 3 Group II: Diploma Grades to QG 3 Group I: Higher Diploma or Associate Degree Grades; (b) merging the VLT II and VLT I ranks to form a new entry rank of Associate Veterinary Technologist and merging the MLT II and MLT I ranks to form a new entry rank of Associate Medical Technologist, while the pay scales of the two new ranks are at Master Pay Scale (MPS) Points 14-24, with an omitted point at MPS Point 17; (c) revising the pay scales of the Veterinary Technologist and Medical Technologist ranks from MPS Points 29-33 to MPS Points 25-33A; and (d) creating a new promotion rank of Senior Veterinary Technologist with a pay scale at MPS Points 34-39.

     The Civil Service Bureau consulted the relevant stakeholders including the departmental managements of the AFCD and the DH and the staff side of the two grades on the findings and recommendations in the Report and sought the CE-in-Council's decision on the way forward yesterday (September 22).