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Government Employees Enjoy Pay Hikes Again
Civil servants and employees of government-supported institutions in China are enjoying another pay boost, as the central government has increased their salaries as of October 1.
With the pay hikes, another 80 yuan (9.6 U.S. dollars) will be added to the pocketbook of an average public servant, who was given a monthly pay raise of 100 yuan (12.1 U.S. dollars) at the beginning of this year. That is, on January 1, the government boosted the bottom salary of civil servants from 110 yuan (13.2 U.S. dollars) to 180 yuan (21.6 U.S. dollars) per month.
The central government has raised the salaries of civil servants five times since 1989 to attract more outstanding personnel and to adequately man the State organs and public bodies.
Relevant authorities believe the income hikes for civil servants will stimulate domestic consumption and advance reform of the country's distribution system.
Currently, salaries of government officials are decided according to an individual's administrative post, office rank and bottomline salary.
The recent pay hikes are primarily based on an employer's administrative level as well. Previously, wage raises amounted to 50 yuan (6 U.S. dollars) per month for the workers of the lowest levels but that amount has now been doubled. For the highest officials, the monthly administrative pay has risen from 480 yuan (57.8 U.S. dollars) to 850 yuan (102.4 U.S. dollars). Those retired are also included in the plan.
The central government decided that the cost of pay raises in the nine provinces and municipalities in the developed eastern and coastal areas such as Beijing and Guangdong Province, should be borne by local finances, with the central government assuming responsibility for such raises in the remaining regions.
The Hong Kong SAR government also proposed wage increases for civil servants totalling HK$4 billion (512.8 million US dollars) in last June, under which wages of senior civil servants will be raised by 4.99 per cent, and middle and junior employees by 2.38 per cent.
Double month pay, a measure to stimulate domestic demandChina is taking active measures to offset the negative impact of a global economic downturn on its economy, especially after the terror attacks on the United States last month, said Li Rongrong, the minister in charge of the State Economic and Trade Commission.
The terrorist attacks on the US will definitely have a bearing on China's economic growth, though "the mid and long-term impact will be much greater than that in the immediate future and the indirect impact will be stronger than the direct one," Li told a press conference in Shanghai on October 17.
"At present, no one is sure to what degree the event will influence the national economy," he said. However, he remained optimistic about China's economic growth momentum because of the government's policy of expanding domestic demand through a proactive financial policy.
Measures taken include huge State investment in infrastructural projects, issuance of Treasury bonds and salary increases for civil servants.
In the latest move, all civil servants will get double monthly pay at the year end, for the first time since 1949 when the New China was founded.
By doing so, China aims to maintain a good economic growth momentum and contribute to economic stability and development in the Asia-Pacific region, Li said.
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