Pledge to review civil service pay good for private sector too: union

KUALA LUMPUR – The government’s commitment to review public sector pay, especially for lower pay grades, would have a positive effect on private sector workers, said a trade union.

National Association of Skilled Workers secretary-general Mohammad Rizan Hassan said this was because the private sector first looks at the seriousness and determination of the government for matters involving civil servants before taking similar measures in their own organisations.

“Recently, the issue of the minimum wage has been raised quite a lot, and often in the private sector, employers say the government needs to start first in terms of (implementing) the minimum wage.

“I am confident that if the government is prepared to review the salary scale of civil servants and set a minimum wage for the public sector, eventually the private sector will also take the same step,” he said when contacted here yesterday.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in conjunction with Labour Day on Monday stated that the time had come for an assessment and review of the unsatisfactory salaries of civil servants, especially at the lower levels.

In the meantime, Rizan said workers need to look at the importance of upskilling and reskilling, in addition to cultivating lifelong learning.

According to him, the government has also provided many initiatives and incentives to improve the skills of the workforce, but these need to be more clear and targeted so that workers understand the opportunities available to them.

Meanwhile, a school laboratory assistant, Siti Aminah Hussein, 30, when contacted hoped that the government’s commitment would bring good news to civil servants, especially for lower-ranked workers like herself.

“It is welcome if the government wants to review (the salary scale) because many graduates are forced to use the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) to apply for jobs in the public sector even though they have higher qualifications.

“The consequence is that these people get a job with an SPM-level qualification that pays very little and as for promotion, it takes about 13 years for a position like mine to get one,” said the civil servant who has been working in the C19 grade for the past three years. – Bernama, May 3, 2023