CUEPACS TO PETITION FOR AT LEAST A HAFT-MONTH'S BONUS

The Star
By LESTER KONG
lester@thestar.com.my
18/10/2010




PETALING JAYA: Cuepacs will convene a special meeting here tomorrow to seek for a half-month bonus for the 1.2 million civil servants in the country.
The union will issue a memorandum to the Prime Minister’s Department to state its disappointment of not receiving their annual bonus this year.
“We have received many calls by our members to petition the Government for a bonus,” said Cuepacs president Omar Osman in an interview here yesterday.
He said the union body had petitioned for a two-month bonus in 2009 but was convinced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak then that it could not be done because of the economic slowdown.
“But, now that the economy is recovering, we believe the Government has the means to grant civil servants the bonus they need.
“Giving the bonus will not put a big dent in the Government’s finances,” he said.
The Government had announced that in lieu of the bonus, a special financial assistance of RM500 each would be given in December to civil servants in Grade 54 and below as well as to contract officers and retirees.
A month’s bonus would incur an expenditure of RM3bil for the Government.
Omar said the RM500 was merely “a token” for the public service employees.
In Ipoh, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said bonus payments to civil servants will depend on the country’s economic situation, reiterating they were not included in the 2011 Budget due to financial constraints.
“We don’t want a deficit in the operational cost.”