<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=452><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Published November 27, 2009
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>22% pay cut for senior civil servants, ministers
Salaries to fall even further behind private sector benchmark
By CHUANG PECK MING
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(SINGAPORE) Ministers and senior civil servants are taking a deeper-than- expected cut in salary, with the benchmark ministerial grade pay tumbling 22 per cent to $1.49 million this year.
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</TD></TR><TR class=caption><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>It will be the biggest cut in pay among staff and appointment holders in the government sector in 2009, when annual salaries will fall 8 per cent to 22 per cent from 2008 pay - even as civil servants will get a modest one-off year-end payment of 0.25 of a month, capped at $750, the Public Service Division said yesterday.
The entry Superscale grade (SR9) salary will go down 15 per cent to $338,100.
The salary cut for ministers and senior civil servants announced yesterday was bigger than what Deputy Prime Minister and Minister-in-Charge of Civil Service Teo Chee Hean projected in January, when he told Parliament that the ministerial grade - or Staff Grade I (MR4) - pay could drop as much as 20 per cent from 2008 to $1.54 million this year.
The bigger fall in pay for ministers and senior civil servants will set their salaries further behind their benchmark, which is pegged to two-thirds of the top earnings in the private sector in the previous year.
PSD said that the actual 2009 MR4 salary ($1.49 million) is now 57 per cent of the Year of Assessment (YA) 2009 (income earned in 2008) MR4 benchmark - even though the YA2009 MR4 fell 6 per cent.
The actual 2008 MR4 salary ($1.92 million) was 67 per cent of the YA2008 MR4 benchmark.
Salaries of those in the Superscale entry grade have also similarly slipped behind their benchmark, pegged to the 15th top private-sector earner in the 32-year-old age group.
The actual 2009 SR9 salary ($338,100) is 81 per cent of the YA2009 SR9 benchmark. The 2008 SR9 salary ($399,500) was 95 per cent of the YA2008 SR9 benchmark.
Despite the larger gaps, PSD yesterday said that in view of the uncertain economic recovery, the government would again defer salary adjustments for ministers and senior servants, including those in the entry Superscale grade.
'The third phase of these adjustments, due in January, was deferred as a result of the recession,' it said.
The first two adjustments were made in April 2007 and January 2008.
The one-off payment for civil servants announced yesterday is in addition to the 13th month pay - and made because there will be no Annual Variable Component (AVC) payment for 2009.
PSD said that while there are signs of economic recovery - and the economy has performed better than was expected in June - growth for 2009 would still be negative, and the outlook uncertain.
'We have yet to see a sustained recovery; hence, we are taking a cautiously optimistic and balanced approach in giving a modest one-off year-end payment,' Mr Teo said.
Civil servants received an AVC of 0.5-month's pay in 2008, down from one month's salary in 2007. But civil servants were not given any bonus in June this year.
PSD said that the year-end one-off payment is in line with the call by the Tripartite Partners - employers, unions and government - 'to acknowledge employees' support for wage restraint and the work they have put in to help deal with the recession'.
The National Trades Union Congress said that it supported the one-off payment because the AVC is tied to economic growth which is expected to be negative this year.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry has projected that the economy would contract by 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent in 2009.
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</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>22% pay cut for senior civil servants, ministers
Salaries to fall even further behind private sector benchmark
By CHUANG PECK MING
<TABLE class=storyLinks border=0 cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=1 width=136 align=right><TBODY><TR class=font10><TD width=20 align=right>
</TD><TD>Email this article</TD></TR><TR class=font10><TD width=20 align=right>
</TD><TD>Print article </TD></TR><TR class=font10><TD width=20 align=right>
</TD><TD>Feedback</TD></TR><TR class=font10><TD colSpan=2><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN -->
<SCRIPT type=text/javascript src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pub=xa-4ae026ba0e05c08d"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT type=text/javascript> var addthis_config = { username: "xa-4ae026ba0e05c08d", services_compact: 'facebook, twitter, favorites, myspace, google, digg, live, delicious, stumbleupon, more', services_exclude: 'print', data_use_flash: false } </SCRIPT> <!-- AddThis Button END --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>(SINGAPORE) Ministers and senior civil servants are taking a deeper-than- expected cut in salary, with the benchmark ministerial grade pay tumbling 22 per cent to $1.49 million this year.
<TABLE class=picBoxL cellSpacing=2 width=100 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR class=caption><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>It will be the biggest cut in pay among staff and appointment holders in the government sector in 2009, when annual salaries will fall 8 per cent to 22 per cent from 2008 pay - even as civil servants will get a modest one-off year-end payment of 0.25 of a month, capped at $750, the Public Service Division said yesterday.The entry Superscale grade (SR9) salary will go down 15 per cent to $338,100.
The salary cut for ministers and senior civil servants announced yesterday was bigger than what Deputy Prime Minister and Minister-in-Charge of Civil Service Teo Chee Hean projected in January, when he told Parliament that the ministerial grade - or Staff Grade I (MR4) - pay could drop as much as 20 per cent from 2008 to $1.54 million this year.
The bigger fall in pay for ministers and senior civil servants will set their salaries further behind their benchmark, which is pegged to two-thirds of the top earnings in the private sector in the previous year.
PSD said that the actual 2009 MR4 salary ($1.49 million) is now 57 per cent of the Year of Assessment (YA) 2009 (income earned in 2008) MR4 benchmark - even though the YA2009 MR4 fell 6 per cent.
The actual 2008 MR4 salary ($1.92 million) was 67 per cent of the YA2008 MR4 benchmark.
Salaries of those in the Superscale entry grade have also similarly slipped behind their benchmark, pegged to the 15th top private-sector earner in the 32-year-old age group.
The actual 2009 SR9 salary ($338,100) is 81 per cent of the YA2009 SR9 benchmark. The 2008 SR9 salary ($399,500) was 95 per cent of the YA2008 SR9 benchmark.
Despite the larger gaps, PSD yesterday said that in view of the uncertain economic recovery, the government would again defer salary adjustments for ministers and senior servants, including those in the entry Superscale grade.
'The third phase of these adjustments, due in January, was deferred as a result of the recession,' it said.
The first two adjustments were made in April 2007 and January 2008.
The one-off payment for civil servants announced yesterday is in addition to the 13th month pay - and made because there will be no Annual Variable Component (AVC) payment for 2009.
PSD said that while there are signs of economic recovery - and the economy has performed better than was expected in June - growth for 2009 would still be negative, and the outlook uncertain.
'We have yet to see a sustained recovery; hence, we are taking a cautiously optimistic and balanced approach in giving a modest one-off year-end payment,' Mr Teo said.
Civil servants received an AVC of 0.5-month's pay in 2008, down from one month's salary in 2007. But civil servants were not given any bonus in June this year.
PSD said that the year-end one-off payment is in line with the call by the Tripartite Partners - employers, unions and government - 'to acknowledge employees' support for wage restraint and the work they have put in to help deal with the recession'.
The National Trades Union Congress said that it supported the one-off payment because the AVC is tied to economic growth which is expected to be negative this year.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry has projected that the economy would contract by 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent in 2009.
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