National Pay Commission (NPC) has announced over 11,800 government employees will receive the minimum wage allowance from next month onwards. The announcement was made at a joint press conference held by the NPC and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to inform the public on how to proceed following the establishment of minimum wage in the Maldives.
NPC and CSC have stated that from January 1, 2022, the minimum wage will be paid to civil servants as an allowance without any changes to the basic salary. The differences between employees will be eliminated following the introduction of the minimum wage allowance, according to the NPC.
In this regard, a minimum wage allowance will be provided to over 11,800 employees with salaries below USD 453 in eight ranks of the Maldives Civil Service. Out of these, 50% of the employees will receive more than USD 97. In addition, 35% of employees will receive between USD 64 and USD 97, and 11% will receive between USD 64 and USD 32. Only 4% of the civil servants will receive an amount below USD 32.
The pay commission highlighted the progress of SS1 to SS4 in the Support Service rank, as well as the progress followed by the minimum wage allowance. The commission has also announced the progress of GS1 to GS4 in the General Service Rank.
Speaking at the press conference, Secretary-General of the NPC Mohamed Faizal said the allowance is a temporary solution as enforcing the changes as per the minimum wage structure to the salaries will take a long time. Meanwhile, the Director-General of CSC Abdulla Saeed said the employees will be notified of the changes and increment in the salary by January 15, 2022.