Some 90,000 civil servants will receive a mid-year Annual Variable Component (AVC) of 0.5 month in July.
This was announced by the Public Service Division (PSD) on 15 June 2017.
Helping Low Wage Workers
In a statement, PSD says the Government also supports the National Wages Council’s (NWC) wage recommendations for low-wage workers.
As such, civil servants in Grades IV and V of the Operations Support Scheme (OSS) will receive a built-in wage increase of $15 and $20 respectively and this will be in addition to their annual increment in 2017.
These are staff who perform basic office administrative support functions like registry duties and office maintenance.
“It signals the Government’s continued commitment to raise the salaries of low-wage civil servants”, said PSD.
PSD adds that while the $15 and $20 are lower than the NWC’s recommendation of $45 to $60 for those earning up to $1,200, all civil servants already earn above $1,200.
Nearly 1,485 civil servants will benefit from the built-in wage increase.
NTUC’s response
PSD says the mid-year payments were decided in close consultation with the public sector unions and NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Cham Hui Fong says NTUC and the public sector unions are glad with the announcement.
She says the 0.5 month amount is slightly higher than the 0.45 month quantum given in June 2016.
“We’re happy to note the Government’s commitment to continue helping our lower wage officers with the built-in quantum though no civil servants are earning below $1,200 per month. As our economic and employment landscapes evolve, we will work closely with relevant Government agencies to press on with efforts to increase productivity to ensure our working people remain relevant with training and skills upgrading,” says ASG Cham.
