Senior staff of subvented welfare bodies receive similar salaries to civil servants as they do not enjoy the same fringe benefits, Secretary for Labour & Welfare Dr Law Chi-kwong said today. 

Dr Law was responding to reporters’ questions on a Social Welfare Department report which showed senior staff at some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) received higher salaries than civil servants of comparable grade. 

“We understand that in a number of NGOs, because they do not have similar fringe benefits as provided under the civil servants' arrangement, therefore they encash those cash benefits into the salary. 

“So, in numeric values, we have to discount what we sometimes call ‘on-cost’, that is translated into the salary of the NGOs’ staff,” he said.