CUEPACS (Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services) president Datuk Adnan Mat has proposed that the minimum wage scheme for public servants be increased from RM1,200 to RM1,800.He said this is in line with the 12th Malaysia Plan which aims to make the country’s society a high-income society by 2025.He added that the last time the civil servant’s minimum wage was increased was in 2016, when it was RM1,200.“Now in 2023 there is still RM1,200 if mixed with the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) of RM350, housing fixed remuneration of RM300, public service fixed remuneration according to their respective grades will only reach an estimate of RM1,900 far from the target by 2025,” Bernama reported him as saying.He said the RM1800 will guarantee better living conditions for the civil servants so that they can live a little more comfortably with the increase in the cost of living.He was flexible in his demand, saying if the government is unable to afford it, it can be increased to RM1,500 because the government has already agreed to implement a private sector minimum wage of RM1,500.Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has insisted that the government cannot afford any increase in the salary of civil servants at the moment.However, he promised that his government was going to look into the review of the unsatisfactory salaries of civil servants, especially at the lower levels.“To me, within one year, if there is a positive increase in revenue, the top priority will be the salary of civil servants.“In the meantime, all bonus payouts and facilities like health and education that need to be assisted will be immediately done once there is an allocation,” added the Tambun MP. — May 6, 2023
Main photo credit: DagangNews.com
