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Civil servants to get mid-year bonus of 0.5 month

SINGAPORE — The Government will be paying a mid-year Annual Variable Component (AVC) of 0.5 month to civil servants in July, slightly higher than what was given last year, the Public Service Division (PSD) said on Thursday (June 15).

SINGAPORE — The Government will be paying a mid-year Annual Variable Component (AVC) of 0.5 month to civil servants in July, slightly higher than what was given last year, the Public Service Division (PSD) said on Thursday (June 15).

Civil servants received an AVC of 0.45 month last year, against a backdrop of a weakened global economic outlook and uneven demand for labour across sectors.

Lower-wage civil servants will also receive a built-in wage increase of up to S$20 in monthly salary, over and above their annual increment this year.

The PSD announcement was welcomed by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the public sector unions, which also applauded the Government’s continued efforts to help lower-wage civil servants.

The PSD noted in a press release that the economy grew by 2.7 per cent in the first quarter of this year, and is expected to grow by 1 per cent to 3 per cent for the full year. Last year, the economy grew by 2 per cent, above the Government’s forecast of between 1 and 1.5 per cent.

“Total employment growth has moderated, while the unemployment rate has trended upwards and redundancies are expected in some sectors as the economy restructures. Against this backdrop, the Government has decided to pay a mid-year AVC of 0.5 month,” it said.

As for lower-wage civil servants, those in Grades IV and V of the Operations Support Scheme (OSS) will receive a built-in wage increase of S$15 and $20 respectively, in addition to their annual increment this year.

“It signals the Government’s continued commitment to raise the salaries of lower-wage civil servants. Around 1,485 civil servants will benefit from the built-in wage increase,” the PSD said, adding that the mid-year payments were decided in “close consultation” with public sector unions. 

Ms Cham Hui Fong, NTUC’s assistant secretary-general, said: “We’re happy to note the Government’s commitment to continue helping our lower-wage officers with the built-in quantum, though no civil servants are earning below S$1,200 per month.”

As Singapore’s economic and employment landscapes evolve, the labour movement “will work closely with relevant government agencies to press on with efforts to increase productivity to ensure our working people remain relevant with training and skills upgrading”, she added.

Mr G Muthukumarasamy, general secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Public Daily Rated Workers (AUPDRW), said: “The AVC is reasonable and AUPDRW will continue to work closely with PSD to review the salaries of lower-wage civil servants and upgrade the value of their jobs to provide meaningful career progression for them.”

Mr Yeo Chun Fing, general secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees, said while the increase from last year’s mid-year AVC is “not huge”, “I think it’s critical to send a signal to our workers that we will give them a bit more when we can”.

“We hope the economy will continue to improve, and look forward to a good year-end bonus that recognises and rewards the commitment and dedication of our civil servants,” he added.

The PSD said on Thursday that the Government will decide on the year-end AVC payment for civil servants after taking into consideration Singapore’s economic performance in the second half of this year.

CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this article, it was reported that the Singapore had grown by 1.8 per cent in 2016. This is inaccurate. The Singapore economy grew by 2 per cent in 2016 according to the full results released in February, the 1.8 per cent figure was an initial estimate in January. We apologise for the error. 

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