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Ninety-five per cent of civil servants will get a pay hike from next month — but unlike previous years, the increase will not be applied uniformly across the board.

Instead, raises will range from 3 to 33 per cent, with the biggest jumps in areas where salaries have fallen far behind the market, and where attrition rates have been high, such as the uniformed services of the Home Affairs Ministry.

How much one gets will also depend on individual performance, as the bulk of the increases will be one-time payment rather than added to monthly salaries.

New entrants to the civil service will get higher starting salaries come June. For example, the $2,400 starting pay for a graduate with a good honours degree joining the management executive scheme will rise by about 10 per cent.

Announcing the Government's first major pay revision for the civil service since 2000, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean noted: "We recognise that salaries alone are not the panacea to our problems. We need to look at the whole career proposition, such as sense of purpose, job scope, interesting assignments, exciting career prospects and developmental opportunities."

He was speaking in his capacity as minister in charge of the civil service, Singapore's biggest employer with about 64,000 staff. The changes, aimed at fending off poachers from the private sector, come amid a jump in the public sector's resignation rate from 4.8 per cent in 2005 to 5.7 per cent last year.

"We need to act before the situation becomes more serious … Otherwise we will deplete the Service of the able people we need, and the service level to the public will be affected," he said, adding that a second round of adjustments could come later in the year.

This was good news for a 27-year-old who has been with the Home Affairs Uniformed Services for the past three years: "I was thinking, if the pay continues to be lousy after a few years, I will move to the private sector."

She may think twice now, as some of the biggest increases will involve the Home Team. This division, whose salaries lag behind their benchmarks by up to 26 per cent, saw a 40-per-cent rise in resignations by junior officers during January and February compared to a year ago. Furthermore, "these services are now dealing with more complex and challenging tasks given the threat of terrorism and the increased security measures", said Mr Teo. The Singapore Armed Forces will make similar salary adjustments.

Larger adjustments would be made where the lag is severe and attrition rates are high, he said. Segments that recently underwent reviews will see smaller tweaks.

In all, only 5 per cent of all civil servants are expected to be ineligible for the revisions. The others will get one-off "performance-based payments", which Mr Teo said would allow wage gaps to be closed quickly this year. For subsequent years, the payments "are likely to be incorporated into the performance bonus structure of the officers, if the market salary levels are sustained," he said.

Statutory boards will concurrently review their salaries and make adjustments if necessary. - TODAY/fa

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