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[h=2]No private sector job would give you five years to prove yourself[/h]Posted by theonlinecitizen on January 30, 2012 <DD_belatedPNG:shape style="Z-INDEX: 0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; WIDTH: 92px; HEIGHT: 17px; TOP: 223px; LEFT: 545px" coordsize = "92,17" stroked = "f" path = " m0,0 l92,0,92,17,0,17 xe"><DD_belatedPNG:fill></DD_belatedPNG:fill></DD_belatedPNG:shape><DD_belatedPNG:shape style="CLIP: rect(1px 93px 17px 77px); Z-INDEX: 0; WIDTH: 93px; HEIGHT: 18px; TOP: 223px; LEFT: 545px" coordsize = "93,18" coordorigin = "1,1" stroked = "f" path = " m0,0 l93,0,93,18,0,18 xe"><DD_belatedPNG:fill src = "http://theonlinecitizen.com/wp-content/themes/newstube/images/comment.png" type = "tile" position = "54260f,3640f"></DD_belatedPNG:fill></DD_belatedPNG:shape>6 Comments
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~by: Ghui~
There is ongoing debate with regards to the revised salary package for ministers. While salaries have been reduced, contention in relation to the bonus scheme still remains.
Proponents of the revised salary package have argued that politicians need to be paid competitively to avoid corruption and opponents of the same have countered that political office is a vocation not to be tainted by the lure of mammon.
The truth is perhaps somewhere in the middle. In all fairness, ministers do work hard and if they do well, we should not begrudge them a good salary. However what connotes “well” and what defines “good”?
In this much heralded new package, ministerial salaries are pegged to the private sector and bonuses are awarded if ministers meet pre set targets. While this may make sense theoretically, it is meaningless practically.
In the private sector, employees are subject to yearly or biannual appraisals. Private sector employees are therefore regularly accountable to their bosses and if they fall short, action is swiftly taken. Errant employees might lose their bonus, receive a lower bonus, get their salaries frozen or even reduced! There is also a three to six month probation period for private sector workers. Are ministers subject to the same?
In Singapore, general elections are held once every five years. This would mean that unless a minister does something drastically wrong, he would retain his mandate for five years. The electorate, as the minister’s boss will only get to appraise its employee once every five years! In the fast moving private sector, five years is a long time. Would any private sector boss countenance a once every five years appraisal or accept a five year probation period?
Ministers and private sector employees therefore work under very different circumstances and it would not be comparing “like for like” to compare their salaries.
Secondly, the newly unveiled ministerial pay package envisages a bonus component for targets met. What it omits is what happens when these targets are not met.
In the private sector, not meeting your targets could be tantamount to a pay cut or the sack within months. In the ministerial sense, it seems that it is just a matter of not receiving a bonus (which is on top of an already high salary).
Don’t get me wrong. I do not oppose high ministerial salaries for the sake of it. If they do well, they deserve to be well remunerated for their efforts. However, what I do object to is the benchmark for comparison and the lack of any safeguards for targets not met.
As already established above, ministerial salaries cannot be compared to private sector ones because they operate in divergent environments. On the other hand, a good yardstick for comparison would be the salaries of ministers in similar countries. Not the US or Britain as one might expect but other countries with similar populations and systems of government.
In addition, a system of pay cuts should also be introduced to counteract the bonus scheme. If a minister hits his targets, he gets a bonus. If he misses his targets, he gets a pay cut. This is only fair given that no other private sector job would give you five years to prove yourself. So, if an artificial comparison is to be made between political office and private sector jobs, safeguards such as these will have to be put in place to ensure accountability.
Comparisons can only be made “all things being equal”. In this case, it is not.
[h=2]No private sector job would give you five years to prove yourself[/h]Posted by theonlinecitizen on January 30, 2012 <DD_belatedPNG:shape style="Z-INDEX: 0; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; WIDTH: 92px; HEIGHT: 17px; TOP: 223px; LEFT: 545px" coordsize = "92,17" stroked = "f" path = " m0,0 l92,0,92,17,0,17 xe"><DD_belatedPNG:fill></DD_belatedPNG:fill></DD_belatedPNG:shape><DD_belatedPNG:shape style="CLIP: rect(1px 93px 17px 77px); Z-INDEX: 0; WIDTH: 93px; HEIGHT: 18px; TOP: 223px; LEFT: 545px" coordsize = "93,18" coordorigin = "1,1" stroked = "f" path = " m0,0 l93,0,93,18,0,18 xe"><DD_belatedPNG:fill src = "http://theonlinecitizen.com/wp-content/themes/newstube/images/comment.png" type = "tile" position = "54260f,3640f"></DD_belatedPNG:fill></DD_belatedPNG:shape>6 Comments
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~by: Ghui~
There is ongoing debate with regards to the revised salary package for ministers. While salaries have been reduced, contention in relation to the bonus scheme still remains.
Proponents of the revised salary package have argued that politicians need to be paid competitively to avoid corruption and opponents of the same have countered that political office is a vocation not to be tainted by the lure of mammon.
The truth is perhaps somewhere in the middle. In all fairness, ministers do work hard and if they do well, we should not begrudge them a good salary. However what connotes “well” and what defines “good”?
In this much heralded new package, ministerial salaries are pegged to the private sector and bonuses are awarded if ministers meet pre set targets. While this may make sense theoretically, it is meaningless practically.
In the private sector, employees are subject to yearly or biannual appraisals. Private sector employees are therefore regularly accountable to their bosses and if they fall short, action is swiftly taken. Errant employees might lose their bonus, receive a lower bonus, get their salaries frozen or even reduced! There is also a three to six month probation period for private sector workers. Are ministers subject to the same?
In Singapore, general elections are held once every five years. This would mean that unless a minister does something drastically wrong, he would retain his mandate for five years. The electorate, as the minister’s boss will only get to appraise its employee once every five years! In the fast moving private sector, five years is a long time. Would any private sector boss countenance a once every five years appraisal or accept a five year probation period?
Ministers and private sector employees therefore work under very different circumstances and it would not be comparing “like for like” to compare their salaries.
Secondly, the newly unveiled ministerial pay package envisages a bonus component for targets met. What it omits is what happens when these targets are not met.
In the private sector, not meeting your targets could be tantamount to a pay cut or the sack within months. In the ministerial sense, it seems that it is just a matter of not receiving a bonus (which is on top of an already high salary).
Don’t get me wrong. I do not oppose high ministerial salaries for the sake of it. If they do well, they deserve to be well remunerated for their efforts. However, what I do object to is the benchmark for comparison and the lack of any safeguards for targets not met.
As already established above, ministerial salaries cannot be compared to private sector ones because they operate in divergent environments. On the other hand, a good yardstick for comparison would be the salaries of ministers in similar countries. Not the US or Britain as one might expect but other countries with similar populations and systems of government.
In addition, a system of pay cuts should also be introduced to counteract the bonus scheme. If a minister hits his targets, he gets a bonus. If he misses his targets, he gets a pay cut. This is only fair given that no other private sector job would give you five years to prove yourself. So, if an artificial comparison is to be made between political office and private sector jobs, safeguards such as these will have to be put in place to ensure accountability.
Comparisons can only be made “all things being equal”. In this case, it is not.
