Top Civil Servant Pay. Are we paying them too much?

[Fook Seng]

The entire system is wrong. Scholars trained on any course of study they fancy but work in totally unrelated area even for their first assignments. Then it is through train, shortcut. How to have both feet on the ground and feeling the ground movement?

 

[enterprise2]

The entire system is wrong. Scholars trained on any course of study they fancy but work in totally unrelated area even for their first assignments. Then it is through train, shortcut. How to have both feet on the ground and feeling the ground movement?

U r right the entire system is wrong. This whole idea to link public sector pay to private sector is totally wrong. Now it seems that both sectors are competing with each other to pay more and this drives up the whole cost for the country. Up to today, I have no idea what a civil servant does that deserves pay for $10k and above per month. Does he brings in revenue 10x that and is he protected from all the risks-taking from the private sector. I know the danger is that if we lower pay for the public sector, our best talent may leave and join the private sector. That is the risk we need to take to bring down top salaries in Singapore to saner levels.

 

[BuiKia]

No only that, there is this mindset that scholar can do no wrong and they must be good no matter what.

I heard from a friend that once in his office, a scholar did badly in a test during a course. Instead of thinking that the scholar was no good, the training management think that the person who set the question for the test must be wrong.

Why? Because their top management will question why the scholar did badly, others do badly nevermind as it is expected but scholar do badly, something must be wrong. Maybe the training was not carried out well, maybe the topic was not properly taught, maybe the trainer was lousy, maybe the place was not condusive but never because the scholar was not paying attention.

So the training management had the test retaken and made sure the scholar pass with flying colours. After that, no question from the top.

The entire system is wrong. Scholars trained on any course of study they fancy but work in totally unrelated area even for their first assignments. Then it is through train, shortcut. How to have both feet on the ground and feeling the ground movement?

 

[saratogas]

After paying so much $$$ to groom them... Of course die die must say their investment is wise, valuable asset or else chop head!

 

[@rmadill0]

Except for those at Perm Sec level, I do not think that most of the civil servants are drawing high pay.

In fact, comparatively, those in the Arm Forces are getting more compared to the uniformed officers in the Home Team. I have friends who are previously in the civil service and left for private sectors and almost all of them are earning more than their peers who are still in the civil service now.

 

[Charlie99]

I think we all know ministers are way way overpaid. Just want to find out if one or two layer down, the situation is the same, they are way overpaid compared to their counterpark in other countries (I am comparing against US, UK..etc and not China or Indonesia). I know the Papies arguement that these posts are for scholars and they can walk into any companies top management if they so wishes (this is what the Papies said but reality may be different, they may only walk into GIC). Also I know we need to pay them high otherwise they get corrupted!! However the real question is are they overpaid in relations to their counterpart in other countries (eg US, UK..etc).

Dir of CNB vs Equivalent position in US (Should compare against same city size...maybe equivalent position in Chicago but I am sure the US position is more challenging).
Chief Justice or High Court Judge (again must compare size for size...should use Chicago as eg).


My sensing is that not only Ministers are overpaid but all the Perm Secs and head of departments are the same too. Do we need to pay so much? Especially when the job they do are worth less in other countries.

Based on what is available to me, a comparison of the senior civil servants (PS in SG vs Deputy Minister and Asst Deputy Minister in the Canadian federal civil service - say SGD $500,000 a year for PS vs Cdn $200,000 to $250,000)

For judiciary: High Court judges in SG about SGD $1 million a year, whereas judges at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice is about Cdn $250,000 to $275,000

 

[Charlie99]

No only that, there is this mindset that scholar can do no wrong and they must be good no matter what.

I heard from a friend that once in his office, a scholar did badly in a test during a course. Instead of thinking that the scholar was no good, the training management think that the person who set the question for the test must be wrong.

Why? Because their top management will question why the scholar did badly, others do badly nevermind as it is expected but scholar do badly, something must be wrong. Maybe the training was not carried out well, maybe the topic was not properly taught, maybe the trainer was lousy, maybe the place was not condusive but never because the scholar was not paying attention.

So the training management had the test retaken and made sure the scholar pass with flying colours. After that, no question from the top.

Your post reminds me of my NS days, where officers writing an assessment of a scholar officer (whether OMS or SAFOS) are worried for their own career, if they do not give an o/s assessment, because of 2 reasons: scholar officers are deemed to be o/s; and a CPT or a MAJ writing an assessment for a 2LT or LTA scholar officer, realized that in a few short years, that scholar officer(s) could be a MAJ or LTC or COL, and his superior.

 

[giggity_shit]

Can these scholar earn more than their minister?

 

[Fook Seng]

Can these scholar earn more than their minister?

If they head a large GLC.

 

[giggity_shit]

If they head a large GLC.

Like how much? 300k a year?

 

[greedy and cunning]

very strange....

where are the response from those diehard cocksuckers ??

 

[Equalisation]

Datok, definitely way too much.

I remembered the miserable pay we got in the army at its infancy. We have to endure strenous exercises and operations, not counting the stress we gotten from Cpt Moshe and Lta Dayan as our Drill Sargeants at the parade square.:o

 

[Fook Seng]

Like how much? 300k a year?

The CEO of a large listed Company is paid several millions.

 

[moolightaffairs]

I still cannot cannot understand why we pay these jokers so much?? They are supposed to be like CEOs, but their organisation are sheltered from competition (or worse monopoly), they are not driven by bottomline and the products they sell are 'shafted' to us whether we like it or not. How I wish I could be in their shoes..get 5 or 6 figure pay every month, sleep like a baby every nite and once in a while can get dick shoe-shined by sultry female vendors!!

come on!!! what the fuck ceo??? its all state board!!! who are they competing with??? they just need to use law to wack u, u lan lan come out money to pay them. like erp, coe etc. is there another lta competing with lower coe or erp??? no!!! what they say u must give!!! its monopoly!!! what performance!!! when everyday traffic jam and mrt breakdown the ceo of lta should be sack!!!

 

[Charlie99]

Datok, definitely way too much.

I remembered the miserable pay we got in the army at its infancy. We have to endure strenous exercises and operations, not counting the stress we gotten from Cpt Moshe and Lta Dayan as our Drill Sargeants at the parade square.:o

It was less than SGD$100 a month.

 

[Hans168]

If they head a large GLC.

& fucks it up like Boey Tak Hap SP/PUB

 

[Hans168]

come on!!! what the fuck ceo??? its all state board!!! who are they competing with??? they just need to use law to wack u, u lan lan come out money to pay them. like erp, coe etc. is there another lta competing with lower coe or erp??? no!!! what they say u must give!!! its monopoly!!! what performance!!! when everyday traffic jam and mrt breakdown the ceo of lta should be sack!!!

Money made from COE is also money what...