SINGAPORE
Singapore Public Servants’ annual bonus will be lower than usual this year as the country copes with global economic uncertainties.
The Public Service Division (PSD) said all Public Servants below the most senior Superscale Grades will receive a year-end payment equivalent to 0.1 of their monthly salaries and an additional one-off lump sum payment of between $S250 ($A268) and $S1,500 ($A1,606) according to seniority.
Meanwhile, senior Public Servants in the Superscale Grades would receive a one-off payment of $S400 ($A428).
The bonuses are the lowest since 2009, in the wake of the global financial crisis.
The amount is also significantly lower than last year’s when Public Servants received a full month’s pay as their bonus. Lower-wage officers received a minimum of $S1,800 ($A1,927).
In a statement, the PSD said that taking into account the prevailing economic uncertainties, the Public Service Division, in consultation with and with the support of the public sector unions, would exercise restraint for the year-end bonus payment.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry has forecast that the economy will grow by 0.5 per cent to one per cent in 2019, with growth for the fourth quarter expected to remain modest.
Assistant Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), Cham Hui Fong (pictured) said the outlook remained uncertain.
She said the NTUC and public sector unions would work closely with the public sector to train workers to improve their employability, as well as to ensure that they stayed up to date on how the public sector was transforming itself.
Singapore, 4 December 2019
