LCQ21: Manpower of Traffic Wardens
​Following is a question by the Hon Dennis Leung and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Lam Sai-hung, in the Legislative Council today (May 8):
Question:
Some trade unions have relayed that there has been a persistent shortage of Traffic Wardens (TWs) and the wastage rate of new recruits is high. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of (a) the staff establishment and (b) the strength of (i) Senior Traffic Wardens (STWs) and (ii) TWs in each year from 2019 to 2024 (set out in Table 1);
Table 1
| Rank | Manpower | Year (based on the figures as at December 31 each year) | |||||
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 (as at March 31) |
||
| (i) | (a) | ||||||
| (b) | |||||||
| (ii) | (a) | ||||||
| (b) | |||||||
(2) of (i) the target number of recruits, (ii) the number of applicants and (iii) the number of people recruited in the TW recruitment exercises conducted in 2021 and 2023 (set out in Table 2);
Table 2
| Year of recruitment exercise | (i) | (ii) | (iii) |
| 2021 | |||
| 2023 |
(3) whether it has plans to launch a new round of TW recruitment exercise; if so, when it will be conducted, and of the target number of recruits of (i) STWs and (ii) TWs (set out in Table 3);
Table 3
| Rank | Target number of recruits |
| (i) | |
| (ii) |
(4) of the number of (i) STWs and (ii) TWs who left the service in each year from 2019 to 2024 (set out in Table 4), and the reasons for their departure;
Table 4
| Year (based on the figures as at December 31 each year) |
Number of departures | |
| (i) | (ii) | |
| 2019 | ||
| …… | ||
| 2024 (as at March 31) |
||
(5) whether it has estimated the number of (i) STWs and (ii) TWs who will reach their retirement age in each year from 2024 to 2026 (set out in Table 5); and
Table 5
| Rank | Year | ||
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
| (i) | |||
| (ii) | |||
(6) of (a) the lower quartile, (b) the median and (c) the upper quartile of the length of service of (i) STWs and (ii) TWs in each year from 2019 to 2024 (set out in Table 6)?
Table 6
| Year | Length of service | |||||
| (a) | (b) | (c) | ||||
| (i) | (ii) | (i) | (ii) | (i) | (ii) | |
| 2019 | ||||||
| …… | ||||||
| 2024 (as at March 31) |
||||||
Reply:
President,
Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) have been monitoring the manpower situation of Traffic Wardens (TWs) and recruiting TWs as and when necessary. Having consulted the HKPF in respect of the Hon Dennis Leung's questions on the establishment, recruitment and the turnover situation of TWs, my reply is as follows:
(1) The establishment and strength of Senior Traffic Wardens (STWs) and TWs from 2019 to end of March 2024
| Rank | Manpower | Year (based on the figures as at December 31 each year) |
|||||
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 (as at March 31) | ||
| STWs | Establishment | 44 | 44 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 |
| Strength | 43 | 44 | 44 | 45 | 44 | 44 | |
| TWs | Establishment | 311 | 318 | 319 | 322 | 316 | 316 |
| Strength | 287 | 287 | 279 | 299 | 262 | 254 | |
(2) TW recruitment exercises conducted in 2021 and 2023
| Year of recruitment exercise | Target number of recruits | Number of applicants | Number of TW recruited |
| 2021 | 55 | 7 741 | 88* |
| 2023 | 43 | 3 426 | Internal vetting in progress; new hire onboarding process will commence as soon as possible afterwards |
*Note: Including the number of vacancy to be filled and waiting list.
(3) The 2023 TW recruitment exercise will be completed soon. The HKPF has no plan for another TW recruitment exercise at this moment. If there are vacancies to be filled in the near future, HKPF will recruit suitable candidates from the waiting list of previous recruitment exercise. Besides, STW is a promotional rank for TW and vacancies will be filled by promotion.
(4) Number of STWs and TWs who left the service from 2019 to end of March 2024
| Year (based on the figures as at December 31 each year) |
Number of departures | |
| STWs | TWs | |
| 2019 | 1 (retired) | 5 (retired) + 9 (change of job#) |
| 2020 | 3 (retired) | 9 (retired) + 12 (change of job#) |
| 2021 | 4 (retired) | 10 (retired) + 10 (change of job#) |
| 2022 | 2 (retired) | 11 (retired) + 10 (change of job#) |
| 2023 | 5 (retired) | 12 (retired) + 18 (change of job#) |
| 2024 (as at March 31) |
0 | 6 (change of job #) |
#Note: Including those who were transferred to other government departments or resigned.
(5) Number of STWs and TWs who will reach their retirement age in each year from 2024 to 2026
| Rank | Year | ||
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
| STWs | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| TWs | 6 | 7 | 6 |
(6) Length of service of STWs and TWs in each year from 2019 to 2024
| Year (based on the figures as at December 31 each year) |
Length of service | |||||
| Lower quartile | Median | Upper quartile | ||||
| STWs | TWs | STWs | TWs | STWs | TWs | |
| 2019 | 24 | 1 | 25 | 4 | 28 | 24 |
| 2020 | 24 | 1 | 26 | 4 | 29 | 24 |
| 2021 | 25 | 2 | 27 | 4 | 29 | 25 |
| 2022 | 26 | 2 | 27 | 5 | 29 | 13 |
| 2023 | 25 | 3 | 28 | 5 | 29 | 12 |
| 2024 (as at March 31) |
25 | 3 | 28 | 5.5 | 30 | 12.5 |