TR EMERITUS

Written by Our Correspondent The Straits Times has come up with yet another misleading and deceptive headline to confuse its readers. The title of an article published under its "Top Story" section reads: "No bonus for civil servants" Followed by an inherently self-contradictory sentence - "Apart from their regular 13th month wage supplement, civil servants will not be receiving any other bonus next month." Now isn't the 13th month bonus a bonus by itself which is tacitly acknowledged by Straits Times in the words highlighted in red above? A more appropriate title should be: "Civil servants to receive 1.25 months in bonus this year" to better reflect the reality on the ground. Readers who simply browse through the headlines without reading the article in depth will be deceived into thinking that civil servants did not receive any bonus this year. In fact, the civil servants should consider themselves fortunate to still receive the 13th month bonus as not all workers in the private sector are given an additional bonus or "wage supplement" let alone one full month of bonus. The Hong Kong Legco will be putting to vote a legislation in mid-December this year to reduce the salaries of their civil servants by up to 5 per cent though its economy has rebounded as strongly as Singapore's. As a supposedly English national daily, the Straits Times should seriously brushing up its atrocious standard of journalism to spare itself the agony of being ranked in a lowly position again in terms of press freedom by media watchdog Reporters without Borders.  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent Following the emergence of the Singapore economy out of recession, civil servants will be expecting a "modest" year-end bonus of 0.25 month, which will be capped at $750 on top of their usual 13th month bonus. According to a statement from the Public Service Department, the one-off payment is to make up for no annual variable component (AVC) payment this year, given the forecast that Singapore's GDP will shrink by 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent this year. Even with the one-off payment and 13th month payment, PSD said the annual salaries of civil servants will still fall by 8 per cent to to 22 per cent this year. It is not common for civil servants to get a few months of bonuses in their AVC payments during the "good" years. A furore erupted earlier  in the year after rumors about 2 staff of Northwest CDC receiving 8 months of bonuses in the previous years were circulated in cyberspace. The minister in charge of the People's Association Mr Lim Boon Heng did not confirm or deny the rumors. Singapore's civil servants are much more fortunate than their co-workers in the private sector and counterparts in Hong Kong. Though NTUC has urged employers to increase the salaries of those workers which were frozen or reduced during the economic downturn, many still have not done so. On the other hand, the Hong Kong Legco will vote for legislation for a civil service pay cut in mid-December. Under the bill, which is likely to be passed by the Legislative Council, senior civil servants earning more than HK$48,401 a month can expect to have their salaries reduced by 5.38 per cent from January 1. Hong Kong senior civil servants take home between SGD$100,000 and SGD$120,000 yearly which is less than the pay of Singapore senior civil servants. Despite their lower pay, the Hong Kong's civil service is as efficient and capable as Singapore's as judged by Hong Kong's performance in many international rankings. With elections around the corner, the one-off year-end bonus will come in useful to boost support for the ruling party.  Read More →

By Khalil Adis While the premium for Group Personal Accident Insurance Scheme is affordable, the government should cover the cost since national servicemen are defending the country I have been serving my national service faithfully for a full two-and-a-half-years and will soon complete my reservist this year, at the end of my ten-year cycle. At this time of writing, I have just finished doing my duty for the 20th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum held in Singapore. Throughout my service with the Singapore Police Force, I have kept our streets safe, assisted my commander and senior officers in writing reports, managed the staff suggestion scheme, came up with newsletter for fellow national servicemen and guarded key installations across the island. I have also endeavoured to pass my physical fitness test (IPPT) with a Silver award almost every year. However, before I take a final bow from my national service duty, there is one burning question my troop mates and myself have been left wondering – why do we need to pay for our own insurance when we are in fact taking time from our work and family to risk our lives for our country? Terms of insurance coverage The Police National Service (PNS) Department last year sent us a letter saying that with effect from 1 April 2008, Home Team NSmen will be automatically covered under the Group Personal Accident Insurance Scheme. This insurance scheme only covers reservist personnel like myself and not full-time national servicemen So, unless we choose to opt out, the premiums are deducted from our make-up pay or service allowance. Most of us have left it as it is as we are just too unaware of its implications or too busy with our duties to even question it. The insurance is underwritten by American Home Assurance Company Singapore (AIG) and managed by Zuellig Insurance Singapore. Police national servicemen are covered during their In-Camp Training (ICT) and pre-ICT assessment, mobilisation, IPPT and remedial test, course and other NS activities where the Order to Report for Service has been served. The sum is not a lot, amounting to $4.85 (inclusive of GST). The insurance provides coverage of up to 30 days of call-up per work year. It covers each individual a sum assured of $100, 000 in the event of death and a scale of benefits of up to $150, 000 for permanent disablement arising from an accident. In addition, there are other benefits, such as claims for accidental partial disability and child education lump sum benefit. Insurance experts agree that the insurance coverage national servicemen are getting is a good deal. “If you compare this with a normal personal accident plan, for the same risk level, it costs $360 with $50, 000 sum assured in the event of accidental death and total and permanent disablement. As the insurance for national servicemen covers higher risks, it is value-for-money,” says Hakim Halim, a financial advisor with Promiseland Independent Pte Ltd. Cost is not the issue However, the cost and coverage of the insurance is not the issue. The issue is, despite our service to our country where we constantly have to put our life at risk, the government still makes us pay for our own insurance coverage. Even the companies that we work for do pay for our insurance in the event any accident happens to us during our course of employment. So, on behalf of my troop mates, I wrote an email to the Police National Service (PNS) Department early this year, asking them to explain why we have to foot the bill. It is almost the end of the year and the PNS Department has yet to reply to our query. Our political leaders have always questioned if Singaporeans would defend the country in times of war. However, the government’s penny-pinching attitude will only sow the seeds of apathy and discord among existing national service men who have continued putting their lives at risk. Should future generations feel less than patriotic, the government have only themselves to be blamed for their “money-as a-means-to-an-end” approach. If the government can allocate $10 million of taxpayers’ money to make permanent residents feel more welcomed and foot the bill to host APEC, surely paying the insurance cost for national servicemen is not too much to ask for, right? After all, we have paid our dues by helping to keep the country safe and secure. Despite our grievances, we are grateful for the excellent welfare provided for us at APEC and the senior officers who took time to sit down to listen to the sentiments among national servicemen. In the meantime, we are waiting with bated breath for the PNS Department’s official reply. About the Author: Khalil Adis graduated from Monash University with a Bachelors of Arts (Communications) and was a former editor for Property Report magazine covering Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.  Read More →