One-off $500 payment for civil servants

SINGAPORE - All civil servants will be given a special one-off SG50 payment of $500 in recognition of their contribution towards nation building, the Public Service Division (PSD) said in a statement today (June 17).

The Government has also decided to pay a mid-year Annual Variable Component (AVC) of 0.5 month in view of the economic climate.

The PSD, which falls under the Prime Minister's Office, also said that all Division IV civil servants will be given a built-in wage increase of $30 to their monthly salaries.

"This [increment] will be in addition to their annual increment in 2015, and signals the Government's continued commitment to help raise the salaries of low-wage civil servants," the statement added.

Around 2,500 Division IV civil servants will benefit from the wage increase. While $30 is less than NWC's recommendation of $60 for those earning less than $1,100, all Division IV civil servants already earn more than $1,100, PSD said.

The mid-year AVC, special one-off SG50 payment, and built-in wage increase for Division IV civil servants were decided in close consultation with the public sector unions and will be paid in July 2015.

Explaining the mid-year AVC of 0.5 month, PSD said: "The Singapore economy grew by 2.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the first quarter of 2015, faster than the 2.1 per cent growth in the preceding quarter. Global economic growth in 2015 is expected to come in marginally better than in 2014, but the pace of growth is likely to be uneven across economies.

"Given the expected improvement in global economic conditions in 2015, externally-oriented sectors are likely to see improved growth prospects. However, sector-specific factors could weigh on the growth of some sectors.

"Taking these factors into account, the Ministry of Trade and Industry forecasts a GDP growth of 2 per cent to 4 per cent for 2015, barring the materialisation of downside risks."

grongloh@sph.com.sg