Public sector employees urged to ensure salary increase for April has been effected |15 April 2023
SS Payet flanked by Ms Tamatave (left) and Mrs Mohideen during the press conference (Photo: Patrick Joubert)
All public service employees are being urged to take note of their pay slips for the month of April to ensure that they have received the 10% increment in salary.
The principal secretary for Finance, secretary of state (SS) Patrick Payet, made the call yesterday morning during a press conference by the Ministry of Finance, National Planning and Trade (MFNPT) and the Public Service Bureau (PSB), held at the ministry’s headquarters, Liberty House, Victoria, on the new salary grid that has come into effect following the approval of the new Public Service Salary act 2023 by the National Assembly on Wednesday April 12, 2023. Also present were the chief secretary of PSB, Shella Mohideen, and comptroller general in the MFNPT, Astride Tamatave.
The 10% increase in salary was announced by Minister Naadir Hassan in his Budget speech for 2022 where he mentioned that all public sector officers were to receive the increment effective April 2023.
“If they feel that they need to discuss further with their HR officers, even their supervisors, please go and discuss and advise if there are any abnormalities that need rectifications,” said SS Payet who noted that the ministry will be doing further amendments with regard to if there are any backpay that needs to be done during the month of May.
He stated that HR officers should continue to talk with their employers to make sure that they are ‘au fait’ with the new salary table while the ministry will be working closely with PSB to review all schemes of service to ensure that all entry points are very clear for all cadre in government.
Speaking on the new Public Salary Table which consists of 20 rows (called bands) and 15 columns (called steps), Ms Tamatave said wage cost of the public sector in 2023 accounts for R3.4 billion which represent 11.3% of GDP. The minimum salary on Band 1 of Step 1 on the grid is R7343 while the highest is R108,499 of Band 12 Step 15.
She noted that the way the salary table is structured will benefit employees who will fall below the level of salaries not listed, especially when it comes to the 13th month pay at the end of the year.
With the government currently paying a number of fixed and temporary allowances only the 5% supplementation (which was introduced in 2019 instead of the salary structure review), the marketable skills allowance, the graduate allowance and the performance allowance (PSC) will be consolidated with the current basic pay for the overall calculation of the 10% increase for new salary. The minimum increase will be R1000 and in the event that the salary falls below the salary band on the new public service salary table, adjustment will be made so that the salary moves upwards to match the one closest to it on the grid.
As example, an employee earning R5485, R274.24 (5% supplementation allowance), R750 (inducement allowance), R600 (location allowance) and R1000 (retention allowance) only the 5% supplementation is applicable and after consolidation the total comes up to R5759.25. With 10% increase on the sum which amounts to R575.93 (below the minimum R1000 increment), the sum is topped up to R1000 plus the R5759.25 to make the R6759.25 as the new salary. Given that the R6759.25 is not the minimum basic salary on the new grid, it will be pushed upwards to match the R7343 as the basic minimum salary on the grid. In all the employee earning the increase in salary in that category is R583.75. For an employee earning R5485 in the first place it will mean an increase of R1583.75.
For an employee earning R15,749, addition to the R274.24 (5% supplementation allowance) and the R2,400 (marketable skill allowance) applicable, the salary will come to R18,936.45 for consolidation for the 10% increase (R1,893.65), to bring the basic to R20,830.10. Given that the amount does not appear on the new salary table, the closest upward is R21,049 which will become the employee’s new salary. The total increase in salary for the employee will be R2,112.55.
The decision to remove the salary of public sector officers from the law and to make it into an administrative policy was initiated by PSB last year in partnership with MFNPT. The aim of the decision by the technocrats was to remove politics in the public sector, especially where salary is concerned. The recommendation for the administration of public salary was approved firstly by cabinet and subsequently by the National Assembly where the public sector salary act 2013 was amended to make the salary of public officers an administrative policy.
Mrs Mohideen on her part said that the 10% increase will not include constitutional appointees, including other appointees i.e. Magistrates, the Registrar of the Supreme Court and the chief executive of the Anti-Corruption Commission of Seychelles (ACCS) as their salaries are stipulated in a legislation.
She noted that there is ongoing work to review the salary structure for the above mentioned and that information will be made available when the work is completed.
It is to be noted that the Public Enterprise Monitoring Commission (PEMC) has advised state owned enterprises who are budget dependent, to based on affordability, increase by 10% on the salary grade of low income earners, 5% to middle management salary grade and 3% on the senior management salary grade. Asked as to why this decision, SS Payet said that given employees of state-owned enterprises, especially those in top positions, are being paid more than those in the public sector, it is not fair to award a 10% increase across the board.
Patrick Joubert