When I was young, my mum used to say - 长大后,要用功读书,才能找到政府工. Iron rice-bowl, some say.
What a change it has been for the government to suggest a review (why use review, use increase!) of the civil servants' pay. Another shameless excuse to milk the cow.
It is also a move to lower resignation rates of civil servants, especially those at entry level, where one in four quit in 2006.
Has the government ever considered that it might not be the pay? Take for example the latest(exaggerated) film by Jack Neo, Just Follow Law. It depicts the "battles" within a typical statutory board when people work to cover their backs, scholars are offered with opportunities aplenty and staff are perpetually punctual - at knocking off. My friends who are/were in civil service agreed with the portrayal. If that is indeed the case, why wouldn't people quit? Resignation is not often based on pay. Other factors such as job challenge, personal fulfillment and career progression are equally important.
If the government decides to match public sector salary with the findings from SMU's survey, it will have to pay entry-level civil servants at least $2,850 a month. That is the average starting pay of SMU graduates in 2006, which is 13 percent more than their 2005 counterparts.
This had me laughing and equally amazed at the suggestion offered by the writer. SMU is primarily a business institution and as we all know, graduates with business-related degrees tend to enjoy a higher starting salary. Hence applying the average increase of business graduates' starting pay to the biggest employer of Singapore's labour, who hires from all functions, is akin to comparing apples with durians (not even oranges!).
On that note, there is nothing you or I can do about it. It's all about getting the excuses to facilitate a FOREGONE conclusion. Watch the announcement in April.
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