NTUC's response to Civil Service mid-year payment 2009
4 June 2009
MEDIA STATEMENT
1 The Public Service Division (PSD), Prime Minister’s Office has announced the Civil Service Mid-Year Payment for 2009. The Government has decided that civil servants will not receive any mid-year Annual Variable Component (AVC).
2 As the mid-year AVC is tied to Singapore’s economic performance, and the economic outlook for Singapore remains uncertain with an unpredictable global economic climate, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and our eight affiliated civil service unions support the decision made by the Government. This decision is also in line with the National Wages Council’s (NWC) recommendations that apply to all workers.
3 We note that many private sector employees have already been affected by cost-cutting measures such as bonus and/or pay cuts and wage freeze as their companies weather the global crisis. The zero mid-year AVC will align the public sector with what is already widely practised in the private sector during these difficult times. Public sector employees understand that during such times, it will not be possible for them to insist on being paid the mid-year AVC. We are also glad that overall, the low-income workers have been less affected by the total wage cuts compared to the higher income public sector employees. In this respect, we welcome the leadership by example shown by the senior civil servants who are taking a bigger reduction in pay. This is the right thing to do and will make it easier for our low-income workers to accept wage adjustments.
4 In this downturn, we also support the Government’s initiatives to make available 18,000 public sector jobs in the next 2 years, which will ease the employment challenges faced by fresh school leavers as well as retrenched private sector employees. On our part, the Labour Movement will continue our efforts to help workers up-skill and re-skill to prepare them for new or different jobs through NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute).
5 The Civil Service Mid-Year Payment was concluded after close consultation and negotiations between representatives from NTUC and the civil service unions, and PSD. This strong show of tripartism with resolute effort to overcome the challenges of the economic downturn together will allow Singapore to strengthen our resilience and be poised to seize opportunities when the economy recovers.
Mdm Halimah Yacob
Deputy Secretary-General
National Trades Union Congress
Additional Quotes from Unionists:
a) Mr Teo Yock Ngee
General Secretary, Amalgamated Union of Public Employees (AUPE), and Secretary for Financial Affairs, National Trades Union Congress
“The decision was reached after close consultations with the unions. AUPE recognises that the economic outlook remains uncertain, and hence supports the zero mid-year payment. This is a necessary cautious approach to adopt in this unpredictable global economic condition. This is also in line with NWC’s recommendations. Employees in the civil service stand by the nation in tackling the challenges of the downturn, and believe that if we stay united in taking the necessary moves to overcome the odds together, we will be able to ride out the storm sooner.”
b) Mr G Muthukumarasamy
General Secretary, Amalgamated Union of Public Daily Rated Workers (AUPDRW)
“AUPDRW understands that the current economic downturn has affected countries worldwide, and Singapore is facing an unprecedented recession. AUPDRW therefore supports the decision of zero mid-year payment. I am sure that our members and workers understand the challenging economic situation that we are in, and the need for a cautious approach to be taken in view of an unstable and unpredictable global economic situation. In fact, we are grateful that there has been no retrenchment and pay cut in the public sector, as compared to the private sector employees. With everyone taking the necessary steps during a downturn, we believe that when the economy recovers, we will be able to bounce back faster, and our workers will be recognised and appreciated for their contributions and efforts.”
