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Hong Kong government employees are not allowed to apply for “authorised absences” to attend official events related to the coming Legislative Council election, the Civil Service Bureau has stressed, after a union reportedly suggested its members could do so. The bureau on Thursday also stressed that civil servant unions should only invite government employees to take part in election-related activities that the groups organised during off-hours, and only in a personal capacity. The stern clarification from the government came after reports suggested the Hong Kong Civil Servants General Union had sent a message to its members, calling on them to attend two Legco election promotion events next Thursday and late November, respectively, with the group to help those who were supposed to work that day apply for “authorised absence”. Gene Fung Chuen-chung, who chairs the union, also reportedly said in a message that he would submit the names of civil servants participating in the events to Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu. Earlier this week, Lee issued a letter to all civil servants and urged them to vote in the December 7 poll, stressing they should set an example by fulfilling their civic responsibility. In response to the reports about the union, the bureau said civil servants, including union representatives, must obtain departmental approval before temporarily leaving their posts to attend activities related to their duty during working hours, with permission to be granted after departments consider operational needs and feasibility. “This approval process also applies to civil servants invited to attend official election-related events,” it said in a written reply to the Post. But the bureau underscored that such processes did not fall under authorised absences covered in Regulation 1111 of the Civil Service Regulations. The regulation only applied to specific circumstances, such as taking part in auxiliary force duties, jury service, attending disciplinary hearings, mandatory quarantine and participating in internal recruitment exams, it said. The bureau said certain sports and cultural activities, professional international conferences and labour education meetings were also covered under the provision. “Civil service unions should only invite public employees to attend their election promotion activities during their non-working hours and in their own capacity, while no public resources should be used throughout the process,” it said. The bureau added that it had never requested lists naming the civil servants who took part in such activities. Fung on Thursday declined to comment on the incident. In the letter sent to all civil servants on Tuesday, city leader Lee strongly urged them to cast their votes in the second poll under Beijing’s “patriots-only” electoral overhaul. Lee pointed to the Civil Service Code, which required government employees to support the local administration’s governance, saying voting was a “manifestation” of civil servants’ upholding of the Basic Law and their allegiance to the city as pledged in their oath. But he dodged a question of whether there would be any punishment for those who fail to cast their vote.
