President of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Mohamed Nasih has expressed concerns that the government's efforts to harmonise pay have fallen short, resulting in a wider pay gap. He addressed the issue during a meeting with the Parliamentary Committee on Independent Institutions.
Speaking at the meeting, Nasih highlighted that the majority of civil service employees have not seen a salary change in two years under the pay harmonisation efforts. He noted that the first significant salary adjustment for civil service employees occurred in 2009. Since then, he said that various allowances have been introduced, but administrative employees have not received any salary increment.
Additionally, Nasih said that the National Pay Commission (NPC) initiated the pay harmonisation process on May 1, 2022, during the previous government. As such, he said that the salaries of teachers and principals were adjusted that year, followed by changes to the salaries of doctors and nurses on May 1, 2023. He, however, said that no other salary adjustments have been made since then.
Furthermore, Nasih highlighted that the pay harmonisation efforts have not met their objectives, and the salary gap has increased. He also pointed out that it has been two years since many civil servants transitioned to the new pay framework, contributing to the widening gap.
Moreover, Nasih said that the CSC had requested involvement in the pay framework discussions but was only informed at the last minute. He said the framework for lacking opportunities for feedback and for using undesirable metrics. He also noted that, despite the law stipulating that the CSC should determine employment conditions, the NPC set these conditions when developing the new pay framework.