‘Civil servant salary scale review will have positive effect’

KUALA LUMPUR: The review of the salary scale of civil servants, particularly for those at the lower level, will have a positive effect on private sector, says National Association of Skilled Workers secretary-general Mohammad Rizan Hassan.

He said this is because the private sector will look at the seriousness and determination of the government on matters involving civil servants before adopting similar measures.

“Recently, the issue of minimum wage has been raised quite a lot, and often in the private sector, employers say that the government needs to start first in (implementing) the minimum wage.“I am confident that if the government is prepared to review the salary scale of civil servants and put a minimum wage at the public level, eventually the private sector will also take the same step,” he told Bernama TV when contacted yesterday.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, in conjunction with Labour Day on May 1, stated that the time had come for a review of the unsatisfactory salaries of civil servants, especially at the lower levels.

In the meantime, Mohammad Rizan said workers needed to look at the importance of upskilling and reskilling, in addition to cultivating lifelong learning so that the element of productivity becomes a lifestyle and culture which contributes to the improvement of the national economy.

According to him, the government has provided numerous initiatives and incentives to improve the skills of the workforce but it has to be more clear and targeted so that the workers understood the opportunities available to them.