The public service should set a good example

The Public Service Sector should set a good example and pay their contract workers a decent hourly rate. 

This will encourage the private sector to follow the government in providing a decent wage to workers. 

It is an indirect way to introduce a minimum wage, without causing hardship to small businesses, which may continue to pay below the public sector.

Tan Kin Lian

To Minister of Manpower
Dear Mr Lim,

There are thousands of part-time/contract office workers in Singapore, some of whom are working in the Ministries and Statutory Boards on hourly rates. I used to be one of them.

The hourly rate being paid to these workers ranges from as low as $5 to $7/hr in most of your Government Ministries like Finance and Education. The hourly rate has been STAGNANT for the past few years.

I would therefore humbly suggest that, in view of inflation (especially food prices and transport fares which don't come down), the Government needs to be more generous and sets the hourly rate to be at least $8 ~ $9 per hour for these office workers. Assuming MOE pays $9/hr, it means that a contract worker can take home $9 X 8.5 hrs = $76.50/ day. I am sure your Government would NOT become bankrupt because of this small increase ??

By doing so, the Government would be setting a bench mark for the private sector to follow suit, which in turn would benefits thousands of part-time/contract workers.

Miss W

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Dear Ms W

Thank you for your feedback on the salary of part-time and contract workers in the civil service.

As a general principle, the civil service seeks to maintain market competitiveness but does not lead the private sector in terms of salary. The salaries of all officers, regardless of whether they are on full-time/part-time/contract work arrangement, are reviewed regularly against private sector salary benchmarks. Following such reviews, salary adjustments could be made where necessary if we are falling behind the market. On the contrary, if the existing salary levels in the civil service are competitive against the private sector, no salary adjustments will be made. If you have specific feedback on particular part-time/contract jobs in the civil service, the Public Service Division could work with the relevant agencies to review the existing salary level.

Thank you.

for Quality Service Manager
Public Service Division, Prime Minister’s Office

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Dear QSM

May I know WHY the pay scales of our Ministers and senior Civil Servants are benchmarked against the top CEOs of multi national companies in Singapore, meaning that our Ministers and Senior civil servants' pay would be VERY MUCH higher than the average pay of the CEOs in most SME companies in Singapore?

So lowly contract workers in Govt ministries/ stat boards should lag behind the pay of those in the private sector??

Is paying a decent salary of $8.50/hr to contract workers going to BANKRUPT our government??

Is it because lowly workers are NOT "natural aristocrats" ??

Miss W