What do u guys think about the hoo haa on the salary hike for Ministers and civil service? I kinda find it strange because the civil service hires 60,000 ppl directly and many much more through the Statutory boards, uniform groups and wholly owned subsidaries(who follow the cue from the civil service)……. a big group of ppl should be having a pay rise right? And since the private sector had a good year last year and prob this year(with big bonuses), where and why is there discontentment over the whole issue? Can anyone enlighten me?
well yes, a huge group will get a payrise, but the thing is, the hike is the greatest for ministers, and hence an ongoing debate, which focuses on 3 key things:
1) do they deserve it?
Discontentment is almost certain to arise where it comes to matters of the heart (and wallet). We’d like to believe that we are capable of rational thinking, but studies have shown that we aren’t as objective as we’d like to be, even for so-called impartial judges. Put simply, our emotions cloud our judgment.
I read an article in The New Paper, which debunked myths some people may had regarding the ministers. For instance, they do not receive double pay even if they are holding more than 1 concurrent appointment, nor do they get perks like free cars, paid holidays, free/subsidised housing, etc.
In addition, we should also take into account the fact that the salaries paid to our ministers is actually significantly less than their overseas counterparts.
Hence, they deserve the raise, imo.
2) shouldn’t the pay rate be set by an independent panel rather than by the govt itself?
Guess the issue of the whole NKF saga is still fresh in the minds of S’poreans, and it DOES seem to be a valid point to me….
3) should money be used to attract talent into the various government bodies?
Ideally speaking, it shouldn’t be the case *insert lofty ideals of how only citizens with the zeal and passion would serve the country*. The PROBLEM is though, most of us are a pragmatic lot, especially in a society such as ours. How many high-fliers are there who would sacrifice a top-paying job (such as being a lawyer), earning up to $4 million a year, and go into the public service sector and earn potentially just half the amount in the same period? Factor in the constant public pressure and criticism hurled at u for anything and everything, and… well, I think you can see where I’m headed :p
oops i just saw this but with regards to your 2nd question ar who can the members of the independent panel consist of??? Civil service? no cuz there is already too close a r/s with the government. Private sector? eh i think its bad cuz business + politicians = corruption and nepotism? Foreign bodies? i hate interference from the outside. At the end of the day it is still the Prime minister who has to give the go ahead rite? I mean what happens if the independent body if we do have one reccomends a pay rise way that is above wat is given now … ppl will still complain rite? It is hard to please everyone lo.
Eh i think lawyers and home ministry personnels will get the highest pay rise haha. Well the minister’s pay raise may seem high only because they decided to be more transparent with the pay. In the past there are other allowances ie car allowance which are now all factored into the pay ba.
I feel that the service pay revision is long overdue… cuz with the current situation i can see that our civil service and government is gonna suffer in the not so distant future with a serious brain drain going on at the lower levels now. I have seen many scholars quit their job and get a pay raise of 3-5 times their last drawn pay. Lastly the bulk of the politicians still come from the civil service and its stat boards ^.^
kinda off.. but good website to promote here : http://www.yawningbread.org
there’s also http://www.pink.sg for young ajs to voice out their thoughts/concerns
What do u guys think about the hoo haa on the salary hike for Ministers and civil service? I kinda find it strange because the civil service hires 60,000 ppl directly and many much more through the Statutory boards, uniform groups and wholly owned subsidaries(who follow the cue from the civil service)……. a big group of ppl should be having a pay rise right? And since the private sector had a good year last year and prob this year(with big bonuses), where and why is there discontentment over the whole issue? Can anyone enlighten me?
well yes, a huge group will get a payrise, but the thing is, the hike is the greatest for ministers, and hence an ongoing debate, which focuses on 3 key things:
1) do they deserve it?
Discontentment is almost certain to arise where it comes to matters of the heart (and wallet). We’d like to believe that we are capable of rational thinking, but studies have shown that we aren’t as objective as we’d like to be, even for so-called impartial judges. Put simply, our emotions cloud our judgment.
I read an article in The New Paper, which debunked myths some people may had regarding the ministers. For instance, they do not receive double pay even if they are holding more than 1 concurrent appointment, nor do they get perks like free cars, paid holidays, free/subsidised housing, etc.
In addition, we should also take into account the fact that the salaries paid to our ministers is actually significantly less than their overseas counterparts.
Hence, they deserve the raise, imo.
2) shouldn’t the pay rate be set by an independent panel rather than by the govt itself?
Guess the issue of the whole NKF saga is still fresh in the minds of S’poreans, and it DOES seem to be a valid point to me….
3) should money be used to attract talent into the various government bodies?
Ideally speaking, it shouldn’t be the case *insert lofty ideals of how only citizens with the zeal and passion would serve the country*. The PROBLEM is though, most of us are a pragmatic lot, especially in a society such as ours. How many high-fliers are there who would sacrifice a top-paying job (such as being a lawyer), earning up to $4 million a year, and go into the public service sector and earn potentially just half the amount in the same period? Factor in the constant public pressure and criticism hurled at u for anything and everything, and… well, I think you can see where I’m headed :p
oops i just saw this but with regards to your 2nd question ar who can the members of the independent panel consist of??? Civil service? no cuz there is already too close a r/s with the government. Private sector? eh i think its bad cuz business + politicians = corruption and nepotism? Foreign bodies? i hate interference from the outside. At the end of the day it is still the Prime minister who has to give the go ahead rite? I mean what happens if the independent body if we do have one reccomends a pay rise way that is above wat is given now … ppl will still complain rite? It is hard to please everyone lo.
Eh i think lawyers and home ministry personnels will get the highest pay rise haha. Well the minister’s pay raise may seem high only because they decided to be more transparent with the pay. In the past there are other allowances ie car allowance which are now all factored into the pay ba.
I feel that the service pay revision is long overdue… cuz with the current situation i can see that our civil service and government is gonna suffer in the not so distant future with a serious brain drain going on at the lower levels now. I have seen many scholars quit their job and get a pay raise of 3-5 times their last drawn pay. Lastly the bulk of the politicians still come from the civil service and its stat boards ^.^
ya lor, men (especially capable men) cannot feed on influential positions and prestige alone!
hi, hope u’re ok now and it’s the upteenth time that u’ve changed ur blog layout leh -.-”
hi Cm_SpOrTz, yep, i most certainly am, thanks so much for ur concern
haha… im fickle-minded, and i thought the previous layout looked quite sparse mah…
i promise i won’t change for at least a month! XD
“Nakedtruth…
”
has learnt to stop giving himself so much pressure
At first I read it as, “Nakedtruth has learnt to stop giving himself so much pleasure”. I was like, “What the…” Lol.
hahaha, good one, that!
As for whether I give myself lots and lots of pleasure…
HMM…
how can i get the password to some of your posts?
drop me an email or PM meme