11 January 2007

PM hints 'relief' for civil servants

PUTRAJAYA: (Jan 11, 2007): Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has hinted the government might be able to give some "relief" to civil servants in terms of the salary revision sought by Cuepacs, the umbrella union for government employees.

The prime minister said the government was adopting an open mind in the matter and would scrutinise all the reasons submitted by Cuepacs on the salary revision which was last carried out in 1991.

Among the factors that would be taken into account in making any decision were the government's financial capacity and the benefits that should be given to the public sector employees.

"The government has to study all these factors. The reason is that there must be (financial) capacity. And I believe that with the spirit of give and take, we can achieve something that will give relief to everyone," he said.

According to Bernama, Abdullah said this in his speech at the 7th annual gathering of civil servants in the Putrajaya International Convention Centre here.

Cuepacs had submitted a proposal for a salary revision of between 10% and 40%.

A 40% pay increase was proposed for the support group II, Grades 1 to 16, which is the lowest group in the public sector while for the support group I, Grades 17 to 26 and Grades 27 to 40, the proposed increase was 30%.

For the management and professional group, Grades 41 to 54, Cuepacs had proposed a 20% increase while for Key Posts in the Public Sector (Jusa), a 10% hike was proposed.

Abdullah said although a pay revision had not been carried out for quite some time, the government had given other allowances to the civil servants from time to time.

"It's not that nothing had been given. It's just that we have not carried out a salary revision for quite some time," he added.

JPA sedia runding

KUALA LUMPUR: Selepas hampir setengah tahun, Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA) bersetuju membuka pintu rundingan kepada Kongres Kesatuan Pekerja Dalam Perkhidmatan Awam (Cuepacs) berhubung isu skim Faedah Pencen Bercarum (FPB).


Perbincangan khusus mengenai perkara itu diadakan di ibu pejabat JPA di Putrajaya 30 Januari ini bertujuan mencari penyelesaian cadangan memperkenalkan FPB bagi menggantikan skim pencen sedia ada.

Presiden Cuepacs, Omar Osman, berkata perbincangan itu dibuat susulan arahan Ketua Setiausaha Negara (KSN), Tan Sri Sidek Hassan kepada JPA selepas pertemuan antara pihaknya dengan KSN di Putrajaya, Khamis lalu.

“Alhamdulillah, akhirnya apa yang kami suarakan selama ini mendapat perhatian KSN dan kami harap dalam perbincangan itu nanti, JPA akan diwakili sendiri oleh Ketua Pengarahnya, Tan Sri Ismail Adam.

“Sebelum ini tiada perbincangan rasmi antara kami dengan JPA mengenai perkara ini, yang ada hanyalah taklimat pegawai JPA mengenai kebaikan FPB dan apa yang kami suarakan dalam taklimat itu tidak direkodkan.

“Perbincangan penting bagi membolehkan kesatuan membuat pertimbangan lanjut sama ada menerima atau menolak FPB kerana sebelum ini, Cuepacs tidak diberi peluang menyuarakan kebimbangannya jika skim itu dilaksanakan.

“Kami ingin tahu inti pati skim itu. Segala perbincangan akan kami bawa pulang kepada Majlis Kongres Cuepacs untuk diperhalusi,” katanya kepada Berita Harian ketika dihubungi, di sini, semalam.

Ditanya sama ada Cuepacs masih mempertahankan tindakannya sebelum ini menentang skim berkenaan, Omar berkata, Majlis Kongres Cuepacs akan membuat keputusan mengenainya selepas menerima penjelasan JPA.

Bagaimanapun, katanya, Cuepacs bukan bersikap meninggi diri apabila berkali-kali bertegas menolak cadangan berkenaan, sebaliknya lebih mementingkan kebajikan kira-kira sejuta ahlinya di seluruh negara.

Skim FPB dicadangkan untuk perlantikan kakitangan awam yang baru tanpa membabitkan mereka yang sudah lama berkhidmat.

Ia memerlukan kakitangan awam mencarum dalam Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pencen (KWAP) dan mengeluarkan caruman berkenaan apabila bersara atau mencapai tempoh tertentu perkhidmatan.

Bagaimanapun, Cuepacs dilaporkan menolak cadangan itu kerana FPB melalui KWAP tiada bezanya dengan caruman pekerja dalam Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja (KWSP).

Omar dilaporkan berkata, FPB ditolak kerana ia akan menghilangkan semua keistimewaan diperoleh kakitangan awam dan tidak memberi jaminan pada masa depan.

Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak sebelum ini turut meminta Cuepacs berbincang dengan JPA bagi meneliti cadangan berkenaan.

Pada pertemuan antara Cuepacs dengan Sidek 4 Januari lalu, Omar dilaporkan berkata, antara lain, KSN bersetuju memberi perhatian serius berhubung cadangan semakan menyeluruh pakej gaji dan kebajikan kakitangan awam.

07 January 2007

High and low in govt salaries


Jacqueline Ann Surin

PETALING JAYA (Dec 21, 2006): The salary of the highest-ranked civil servant in Malaysia is 19.5 times more than his or her lowest-ranked colleague, according to 2006 data, Dr Lim Teck Ghee said.

The former director of Asli's Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) said this figure was far higher than in other Asean countries, as demonstrated by a 2004 study by the United Nations (UN) Public Administration Network (see chart). Malaysia, however, did not participate in this study.

"Data from other countries in Europe, Africa and Latin America on total allowances as a percentage of total salaries further indicates that civil service salary differentials in Malaysia have been considerably widened by the payment - to higher scale civil servants - of generous supplementary allowances not normally available in other countries," he said in an e-mail interview.

Lim, who is also a former World Bank senior social scientist and UN regional advisor on poverty and social development, had said last week (Dec13, 2006) that Cuepac's call for a salary increase was "well merited" and a review needed because the salary differential within the Malaysian civil service was among the world's worst.

Cuepacs, the umbrella union for the country's one million civil servants, said on Dec 10, 2006, it wanted a salary increase of between 10% and 40% because of the rising cost of living and their improved work performance. The last salary revision was 14 years ago (in 1992).

Lim said civil service salaries were revised annually or biennially in most industrial market economies.

"The practice of infrequent adjustments is usually found in poorer developing countries," he noted.

Because public money was involved, Lim said a transparent, independent and fair review was necessary, especially by an independent commission with expertise, to assess - with the market as comparator - the content, skills and compensation necessary for civil service jobs.

"Unfortunately, the government is continuing to give the impression that it is 'an employer of last resort'," Lim said.

He said the perks of working for the government for example, job security and cheap loans, did compensate for lower civil service wages but to ensure fairness, the monetary value of all in-kind allowances and the net present value of future pensions should be computed.

"Because the basic wage is only one component of a civil servant's total rewards, comparison of base wages in public and private sectors is not a good methodology," he added.

"Higher grade civil servants cannot complain of being lowly paid compared with their private sector colleagues," he said, citing the allowances of senior university professors, which comprise more than 40% of the total take home salary.

"In fact, civil service reform in some OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries has focused on abolishing in-kind allowances and providing a basic wage component that comprises all or nearly all of the total pay. This ensures fuller transparency and prevents hidden over-compensation," he noted.

Lim, however, disagreed with Cuepacs'call for an additional 200,000 civil servants by 2020.

"In fact, the present size of our civil service needs to be reduced at all levels. The data (see chart) shows how bloated our civil service is by regional standards," he noted.

"There may be a case for selective increase in some strategic sectors but overall we need a considerably leaner, more efficient and productive, and representative civil service," he said.

As CPPS director, Lim was responsible for putting together a report that was submitted to the government called "Proposals for the Ninth Malaysia Plan". One chapter in the report was on the reforms that were needed to create a more racially representative and world class civil service.

Thu, 21 Dec 2006

Delivery system call goes unheeded

Friday December 29, 2006

MANY of us are still turning a deaf ear to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s call to cut red tape and improve the public delivery system.

A case in point is the section responsible for the overseeing of the documentations for the transfer of properties like homes and apartments in the Official Assignee’s Office.

The process normally takes one to two months. The fee is RM500.

But of late there is a long delay of more than six months. Such delays are causing havoc in the system for the banks and the new owners seeking accommodation.

Follow-up calls to Official Assignee’s Office are always met with excuses like so-and-so is on leave, or gone for a course.

There seems no appreciation for the urgency of the matter, which only leads one to conclude that this tidak apa attitude is still rearing its ugly head in some sections of the civil service.

This mind set, if not changed, will eventually lead to disastrous consequences.

Can someone in the Official Assignee’s Office, please do something to make that change and be counted as one who heeds the Prime Minister’s call?



CONCERNED CITIZEN,

Kuala Lumpur.