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Everything About the Pay Raise for 23,000 Civil Servants Summarised for You

2022-06-06 , 10:27 am

These days, it seems like all news related to money are never pleasant.

In the midst of food shortages and inflation, the only thing that could make life better would be price drops or pay raises.

The former probably isn’t happening anytime soon, but the latter has just occurred.

Now you might probably be eagerly wondering how much the raise is and who even gets it, so without further ado here is everything you need to know about the recent pay raise.

Who is Receiving It

There are about 153,000 public officers working in 16 ministries and more than 50 statutory boards. Of these, about 87,000 are civil service workers.

From 1 August this year, about 23,000 of those civil servants will get a pay raise.

And to be part of this number, you will have to be working in policymaking, administration and operations work.

Unfortunately, the benefits do not apply to civil servants in specialised schemes, such as accountants, police officers, teachers and foreign service officers.

How Much is the Pay Raise

Yes, yes, we are all curious about the magic number.

The specified civil servants will receive a pay raise of between 5 per cent and 14 per cent.

This will allow the civil service to keep pace with the market and continue to attract and retain talent, the Public Service Division (PSD) said.

Salaries for the civil service generic schemes were last adjusted in 2014, when pay increases of about 5 per cent were made for mid-level civil servants.

Since then, PSD noted that salary levels in the market have gone up.

But even if you are getting a pay raise, the number differs for different workers.

Civil servants in the management executive, management support and corporate support schemes will receive pay increases of between 5 per cent and 10 per cent, with higher adjustments for grades that have larger gaps with market benchmark.

Those in the operations support scheme will receive higher adjustments of between 6 per cent and 14 per cent, in line with the Tripartite Workgroup on Lower-Wage Workers’ call to uplift the salaries of lower-wage workers.

Reason for the Increase

These adjustments come after Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing said in February that the public sector has seen an increase in attrition across the board.

The resignation rate for the management executive scheme—the largest generic scheme in the civil service—hit a 10-year high of 9.9 per cent last year.

Essentially, many civil servants had been quitting their jobs.

Apart from increasing salaries, the PSD has also been looking at other benefits to provide employees.

Together with the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees, PSD is looking at redesigning the jobs of operations support officers, improving their career progression and raising productivity in the long run.

Hybrid work arrangements and flexible work options were also introduced.

PSD added that it will continue to provide officers with career opportunities and support their growth and development. This includes job attachments, structured job rotations, formal training and project work.

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Civil Servants in Specialised Schemes

Now what about those who don’t get the pay raise?

For civil servants in specialised schemes, a Ministry of Education (MOE) spokesman said, “MOE is working with PSD to review salaries of MOE schemes and the outcome will be made known in due course.”

A Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) spokesman said, “MHA is also reviewing our schemes of service to ensure that they remain competitive and keep pace with the market.”

Its officers will be informed of any changes to the schemes by the end of the year.

Cushion Impact of Inflation

Amalgamated Union of Public Employees general secretary Sanjeev Tiwari said the move to raise wages could keep public sector pay in tandem with private sector salaries amid manpower shortages.

The pay raise is also timely in light of the ongoing inflation in Singapore and around the world.

It would also help cushion the impact of inflation, especially for the lower income group who feel the financial impact more heavily.

Private and Public Sector Wages

Beyond that, it also sends a signal to the private sector that the Government is doing its part and that it is mindful of the higher cost of living.

This is also because the public sector doesn’t want to lose workers to the private sector.

Labour economist Walter Theseira, an associate professor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said that the pay rise is also a recognition that private sector wages in comparable jobs have risen significantly.

“This move would also help maintain living standards especially for the lower wage civil servants, who might otherwise face significant loss of living standards,” he said.

Prof Theseira added that most employers will also be factoring in inflation in making their wage adjustments this year.

“Those who cannot afford to do so may see their workers leave if the market remains tight and there are better offers out there,” he added.