A Pay Cut For Civil Service?

TODAY paper ran this article today:

A announcement will be made “before long” on whether Civil Service salaries, including those of top political leaders, would be adjusted in light of the economic turmoil, said Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

A third and final phase of the salary revisions in the civil service is scheduled to take effect by the year’s end, to bring salaries of Senior Permanent Secretaries and Ministers to 88 per cent of the benchmark pegged to the private sector.

In recent days, tripartite partners have called on corporate bosses to “lead by example” by taking “similar or deeper” pay cuts than the rank and file.

On Friday, responding to a reporter’s question on whether Civil Service leaders should do likewise, labour chief Lim Swee Say said the labour movement “would not be surprised to see a wage cut in the public sector”, given Singapore’s declining economic growth.

Under the current pay formula, a substantial portion of the annual pay of Senior Permanent Secretaries and Ministers is linked to the gross domestic product growth rate and structured as a GDP bonus.

At the briefing with Mr Shanmugaratnam and Mr Lim were Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong and Mr S Iswaran, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry.

When asked if the four would be willing to take a pay cut,Mr Shanmugaratnam responded: ”We are not here to grandstand ... The principles underpinning Civil Service pay as well as pay of political leaders and people at the top of the Civil Service are well known.”