China plans to raise the salaries of civil servants working for
the central and local governments and employees of public
institutions as the government begins to reform the country's
income distribution system to narrow the gap between rich and
poor.
A total of 34.7 billion yuan (US$4.3 billion) will be spent on
salary rises for 120 million people, including six million central
and local government officials, 30 million employees from public
institutions, and 50 million retired military servicemen and
government employees in 2006.
In addition, the stipend standards for 30 million disabled
military servicemen and family members of war heroes and military
servicemen, and the basic subsistence allowances for urban
dwellers, will also be raised.
"It (the salary reform) will help create a sound environment for
the income distribution system reform of the entire society," said
Chinese President Hu Jintao at a high-level meeting discussing
equal income distribution early this month.
The reform is also necessary for the building of an efficient,
transparent and honest government in accordance with the Civil
Servants Law which came into force in January 2006 and stipulated a
uniform salary system for civil servants across the country, Hu
added.
People working in remote, underdeveloped areas will also receive
a special allowance and performance related pay will also be
implemented.
Of the six million civil servants and 30 million personnel
working in public-funded organizations across China, 60 percent
work in county-level governments, whose salaries depend mainly on
the state of local government finances. Figures from the Ministry
of Personnel show that the income gap ratio between officials of
the same ranks in Shanghai and the northwestern province of Shaanxi can be 2.8:1.
The aim of the planned pay rise is to improve the welfare of
government employees who work in China's poor and rural regions,
according to the Ministry of Personnel.
Except for nine prosperous regions including Beijing, Shanghai,
and the provinces of Shandong, Jiangsu and Fujian, the cost of the salary increases will
be footed by the central government.
"It is very important to offer government administrative staff
effective incentives to inspire more enthusiasm," said Dr. Liu Xin,
a professor with the School of Public Administration at the
Beijing-based?Renmin University of China.
He noted that it was very difficult for grassroots civil
servants to secure pay rises by staying in the same position for
years, while their workload and pressure continues to build up. "It
has inevitably led to inefficiency and turnover of competent civil
servants who believe their income should match their actual
contribution," he said.
Statistics from the Ministry of Personnel showed that at least
1,039 civil servants with bachelor degrees had resigned from 21
central government ministries between 1998 and 2002. In the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, most of the officials who resigned
were below the age of 35. One hundred and twenty three people who
worked for the Ministry of Commerce for less than three years -
72.8 percent of the total - quit to join foreign companies, where
the income level is based on performance.
The unfair income distribution system has even prompted some
officials to gain personal wealth by unlawful means.
The audit report of 32 central government ministries and
national-level public institutions released last September by the
National Audit Office showed that some organizations had embezzled
public funds to pay special allowances to their employees. For
example, a public institution under the General Administration of
Civil Aviation had spent more than 48 million yuan (US$6 million)
on special allowances for employees.
Xie Zhengzheng, who works in the Beijing branch of a foreign
investment bank, is skeptical of the pay rises for civil servants
since "their income is actually far more than the cash they
receive". "It includes various welfare like assigned apartments and
automobiles," he said.
But the Ministry of Personnel insists the emphasis of the reform
is to quash these unofficial bonuses and curb excessively high
salaries, while increasing pay for grassroots officials.
"The income for government officials, which comes mainly from
public funds, should be transparent and balanced, as it sets the
tone for the whole income distribution reform," said Dr. Liu
Xin.
(Xinhua News Agency July 22, 2006)
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