If you’re a civil servant who’s thinking that you’re going to get a big fat bonus for the year-end holiday that you’ve already booked, then it sucks to be you.
Because unlike last year, which you got one month bonus, this year’s bad. Very bad.
Instead of one month bonus, you’d be getting merely…0.1 month.
Which means if you’re earning $2,000, only $200 is coming your way. Minus the CPF and you can only buy a one-way ticket to…Bangkok.
Here’s what happened and the reason behind it.
Year-End Bonus of 0.1 Month
Lest you’ve forgotten, civil servants received a 0.45-month bonus in the middle of this year. All in all, the entire bonus for the year will, therefore, be 0.55 month.
Last year, the total is 1.5 months in total (0.5 months in mid-year and 1 month in end-year).
But fret not: you’ll still get your 13th-month bonus. Much better than Goody Feed.
And depending on your pay grade, you’ll get a lump sum of $250 to $1,500.
Ah, at least you can now afford the return ticket, can you?
This is the lowest since 2009, whereby civil servants received a mere 0.25-month bonus (which is even capped at $750) plus the usual 13th-month bonus.
But hey: back in 2008, Lehman Brothers collapsed and the financial crisis was so bad, Singapore had to tap on its reserve funds in January 2009.
So, what caused this year’s low bonus?
One word.
Uncertainty
Unlike 2009 when the world was crying over money, this time, everyone has yet to worry about money.
But note that I used the word “yet”, because the economy is super unstable now.
The key reason the Public Service Division gives is “prevailing economic uncertainties”, and it’s not hard to see why.
There’s now an ongoing trade war between the US and China, and we’re the collateral damage: any tariffs imposed would affect us, too.
And given that the US and China are two of our largest trading partners, any further tariffs, which could change with a snap of the fingers, could lead us into recession.
Also, lest you’ve been watching Tik Tok videos instead of news channels, you might not know that Brexit is not…completed yet. The people have voted on Brexit two years back and the full withdrawal was supposed to be in March this year, but the deadline has been extended until 31 January 2020.
Needless to say, if Brexit had been completed, there won’t be so much uncertainty.
And of course not to mention the Hong Kong situation that is worsening every week.
But hey: these exist outside of Singapore. Why are we affected?
Because, my dear reader, Singapore depends a lot on imports and exports because we’re a small country with no natural resources. Just look at the phone you’re using now; is it made from Singapore?
So, if you want to be as rich as Singapore, then do what Singapore does: be kiasu and kiasi.
No certainty? Lower bonus.
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