IPOH, Sept 30 — The Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public Service (Cuepacs) has asked the government to consider higher base salaries for civil servants by citing the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cuepacs president Adnan Mat also said the country’s poverty line income has gone from RM980 to RM2,208.
This meant over 400,000 households in the country with monthly incomes below this level were considered poor in 2019, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
“We request the government to include a special allocation for civil servants, especially on the amount of minimum wage, when tabling the 2021 Budget on November 6,” he told reporters after giving a briefing at the State Forestry Department Headquarters in Meru here.
Adnan also urged Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to keep paying bonuses to civil servants, who have not received it for some time.
“We believe it is right to not to fix an amount for the bonuses and we will leave it for the government to decide on the matter.
“But we still hope that the tradition of giving bonuses to the civil servant, which is long due, should be continued by the government,” he said.
“We also hope that the special financial aid given to the civil servants should be instead changed and added to the monthly salary,” he added.
Adnan said the bonuses should be given as a gesture of appreciation for the civil servants who have carried out their duties well despite the changes of the government and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
“Malaysia has been reported to be the best three countries in handling the Covid-19 pandemic well. This would not be achieved without the sacrifice of the civil servants, who are the frontliners. They deserve to be awarded with bonuses,” he said.
