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Young and talented, and with their scholarship bonds about to expire, they are at the juncture in their career where they will make that all-important decision: To stay in the Civil Service or head for the private sector, where the promise of higher salaries awaits.
This is the group of civil servants that worries the Government the most, and with good reason too. Just over a decade ago, the elite Administrative Service lost entire cohorts of young, capable officers to the private sector.
These Administrative Officers, said Minister-in-charge of the Civil Service Teo Chee Hean in Parliament yesterday, are those whom the Government is desperate to retain, for they form the pool from which most public sector leaders are eventually drawn.
"They are in their late 20s and early 30s. This is a critical juncture in their careers, when they will ponder alternative career options. (They) are mobile and likely to be drawn to all the attractions of the private sector, in particular the banking industry," he told the House.
The salaries of administrative officers are paid based on a benchmark known as SR9, the first Superscale grade. Those at this grade take home an annual income of $372,000 — an amount currently 103 per cent of the benchmark.
The benchmark is calculated using a formula pegged to the top earners aged 32 in the private sector. As the salaries of these superscale grade civil servants are "currently near the benchmark" of $361,000, there will not be any adjustment to the monthly salaries or in the grades below, explained Mr Teo.
However, there will be the introduction of a performance-based payment of between 0.5 and 0.75 months' salary.
This payment, together with the higher Gross Domestic Product bonus paid out this year, will bump up their pay packets by 3 per cent to $384,000 a year.
About 36 per cent of this revised package will be variable — depending on how the officer and the economy perform.
The salaries for those between the first Superscale grade and the entry-level grade for ministers and senior permanent secretaries will be adjusted accordingly, by between 3 per cent and 33 per cent.
In his speech, Mr Teo said it was important to note that the benchmark was determined using salaries received "almost two years ago" — in 2005. The market for such "talented young professionals" is a very competitive one and it is realistic to expect that market salaries have gone up even more since then, said Mr Teo.
He hinted that it was possible that administrative officers could see their salaries revised again in future, depending on the market forces in the coming months.
"We will watch private sector salaries at the SR9 benchmark carefully. Should we see the market moving, we will move promptly to make a further adjustment, later this year if necessary," he said. - TODAY/fa
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