Public Servants in China have been targeted in an austerity drive with a range of perks and bonuses cut as part of an attempt to reduce costs.
Some public employees have seen their monthly pay packets fall by up to a third.
While the cuts have prompted a flurry of complaints on social media by Public Servants struggling to make ends meet, Premier, Li Keqiang said a round of belt-tightening was necessary to boost the flagging economy.
Noting that China had lowered taxes and fees by as much as 8.6 trillion yuan ($A1.9 trillion) since 2016, Mr Li said the process must continue so the Government could give more benefits to businesses and energise the economy.
According to the latest available Government statistics, China has 7.1 million Public Servants on the payroll at the end of 2015.
An officer in the economic powerhouse of Guangdong Province said that he and many colleagues had seen their pay packets slashed.
“Yes, there was belt-tightening. From what I’ve heard, many face a 20 to 30 per cent haircut,” the Guangdong officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.
“The cuts mainly apply to non-salary benefits like housing subsidies.
“Since pay rates are not uniform across the Province, the amount may vary from city to city,” he said.
The base salary for Public Servants is low — even top-ranking Ministerial officials draw less than 9,000 yuan ($A1,971) a month, while the most common Departmental-level officials, who form the backbone of administrative cadres, earn about 5,000 yuan ($A1,094) each month.
However, this is topped up by a number of perks including subsidies for housing, transport, education, telecommunications, childcare and medical benefits, plus year-end bonuses that are not disclosed to the public.
The most painful aspect of the latest cuts is that some Public Servants have been asked to surrender bonuses they have already received.
The city of Nanchang, in the eastern Province of Jiangxi, asked workers in the city’s Water Resources Bureau to return their bonuses within days, while the neighbouring city of Dexing ordered the city’s teachers to do the same, effectively halving their annual take-home pay.
Beijing, 15 January 2022
