PUTRAJAYA: Companies in the private sector should consider increasing wages to match productivity and performance, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said this is especially so for those that have recorded substantial profits, adding that a Statistics Department study found that productivity registered “good numbers” but the rise in wages was “very moderate”.
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“I hope with the announcement of the interim payment for civil servants, the private sector, too, will look at... (staff) wages," he said at the Prime Minister’s Department monthly assembly here on Monday (Oct 16).
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, announced when tabling Budget 2024 on Friday (Oct 13) that civil servants Grade 56 and below were to receive an interim payment of RM2,000 while the government reviews the salary and allowance scheme.
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Those in the Jawatan Utama Sektor Awam (Jusa) as well as all retirees from the civil service would receive RM1,000.
On the review of civil servants’ salary and the allowance scheme, the Prime Minister said the target was for it to be ready by the middle of next year so that important announcements could be made in the next Budget.
He said while many did not anticipate such an amount to be paid out, the government felt that it was justified as the scheme had not been reviewed for 10 years.
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“I have told the Public Service director-general that the review must be comprehensive and that all departments and sectors are given the opportunity to state their case,” he said.
In July, Anwar had said he would look into the salary and allowance scheme of civil servants.
