SIBU – The Sarawak chapter of the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) has called on the government to consider increasing the Regional Incentive Payment (BIW) for all civil servants in Sabah and Sarawak under Budget 2023.
Its chairman Omar Bahrain Unin said the BIW should be increased considering that the cost of living allowance for civil servants in the peninsula had risen by 50% since January 2020.
“It will be hard for the civil servants in Sabah and Sarawak to handle the cost of living if the BIW is not increased,” he said in a statement.
Omar said Cuepacs also supported the government’s focus on implementing the new Public Service Compensation System (SSPA) through Budget 2023 to strengthen the country’s public service system.
He said Cuepacs had already sent the SSPA proposal to the government for consideration after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob stated during the Public Service Assembly on August 30 that a study on the SSPA should be expedited so that it could be implemented in the near future.
Omar said the new SSPA needs to be implemented immediately by taking into account all aspects of human capital involving remuneration and services in order to remain relevant to the current needs of civil servants.
“The implementation of the SSPA needs to include aspects of the new minimum wage in accordance with the current increase in the cost of living as well as training and development needs to improve the efficiency of the public service,” he said.
As the private sector had implemented a minimum wage of RM1,500 effective May 1, Omar said it is appropriate for the public sector to follow suit to balance the current needs of civil servants.
With the abolition of the Form 3 Assessment, he said the minimum qualification to enter the civil service is currently the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia and the starting salary limit should therefore be increased.
“Cuepacs is confident that the setting of a new minimum wage for the public sector followed by training and development could improve the efficiency of the public service delivery system to the people,” he said.
Budget 2023 will be tabled on October 7. – Borneo Post Online, September 21, 2022
