Cuepacs wants minimum salary of RM1,800 for civil servants due to rising cost of living

KUALA LUMPUR: The proposal to raise the minimum monthly salary of civil servants to RM1,800 is to enable them to bear the rising cost of goods and live more comfortably.

Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) president, Datuk Adnan Mat said the current salary of civil servants was insufficient to bear the rising cost of living.

"We are not comfortable with the current salary while the price of goods keep increasing, hence the higher expenditure. This situation is unfair for civil servants with the income they're earning.

"We have proposed to the government that their minimum monthly pay be raised to RM1,800. Although the government has approved the amount of RM1,500 for GLC (government-linked company) employees, we still want it at RM1,800."

He said this when met by reporters after a breaking-of-fast event following a meeting of the Cuepacs Supreme Committee, here, today.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had on March 19, announced the minimum monthly salary set at RM1,500 effective May 1, involving the employees of large companies and government-linked companies first.

Adnan said that following the new minimum pay, there would be a narrow gap between the salary of new employees and that of longer-serving employees, hence Cuepacs was asking for two salary increments for the latter in the civil service.

He said the new salary system should be implemented fast and be more comprehensive for the civil servants for them to be in a more comfortable position financially.

"As for the past 20 years, we have implemented the same remuneration system, which is the Malaysian Remuneration System, this system needs to be changed," he added.

-- BERNAMA