Amalgamated Union Of Public Employees

The government rewarded its employees with a higher bonus payment this year.

Civil service employees will receive a 1-month year-end Annual Variable Component (AVC) in December 2007. This is on top of the 13th month pay, which civil service employees normally receive at the end of the year.

In addition, a Growth Bonus will be paid to eligible civil servants in March 2008 as the economy has performed better than anticipated. Good performers will receive a Growth Bonus of 0.5 months while better performers will receive more, up to 0.8 months. As this is the first year of implementation of the Growth Bonus, the government has decided that satisfactory performers will receive a Growth Bonus of 0.1 months to reflect their team contributions.

The total variable payment for 2007, including the mid-year payment, will be 3.0 months + $220 for a good performer.

The Civil Service introduced the Growth Bonus in October 2007, which is to be paid in times of exceptional economic performance. The bonus will be tied closely to individual performance, with the better performers receiving more. With the introduction of the Growth Bonus, there will no longer be Special Bonus payments in the Civil Service.

“The AUPE is happy that the Government will be paying a Growth Bonus to reward good performers on top of the one month AVC and 13th month AWS for 2007. This is in view of a better full year GDP growth forecast of 7.5% to 8% by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. We are also pleased that the Government continues to reward its employees in good times,” said Mr Teo Yock Ngee, General Secretary and Secretary for Financial Affairs, NTUC.

Looking ahead, Mr Teo expects the Government to further reinforce the link between performance and pay.

However, he cautioned that some kinks must be ironed out. “Such a system can cause unhappiness if people don’t understand how it is done. For instance, they need to be appraised regularly on their work performance.”

NTUC response by Mdm Halimah Yacob, Deputy Secretary-General:

Come January 2008, civil servants can look forward to more attractive careers with greater development opportunities and a more competitive remuneration package. Rewards will show a sharper link between pay and performance to recognise and reward staff according to contribution.

The changes will involve officers in the Management Executive Scheme, and the Management Support and Technical Support Schemes. Other schemes of services are being reviewed concurrently. Changes include the introduction of a specialist career track, adjustment to monthly salaries, higher performance bonuses and annual increments that are responsive to market wage movement.

There will also be greater emphasis on developing leadership across the Civil Service and giving officers challenging assignments and projects. Officers will also have opportunities for Civil Service-wide job postings and attachment opportunities.

A new scheme, the MXS (2008) will replace the current MXS with effect from 1 Jan 2008. The key features of the MXS (2008) are as follows:

The monthly salary ranges of the MXS (2008) have been revised to align with the market. An adjustment of up to 6% will be made to the monthly salaries of eligible officers in the MXS (2008).

Currently, new recruits are appointed into the entry grade of MX13 and placed on MX12 upon confirmation. Under the MXS (2008), MX12 will become a promotion grade to give officers a greater sense of progression, especially in the early years of their career.

In addition, there will be greater differentiation in the merit increment quantum to better reward good officers. Officers with D and E performance grades will not receive any merit increment.

The PB framework has been enhanced, to increase the proportion of individual performance-based pay and sharpen the differentiation in PB payouts among officers. Good performers can look forward to an increase in PB of up to 1 month while better performers will be rewarded with an increase of 1 to 2.75 months.

With the revision, a Management Executive will, on average, see an increase of up to 8.6% in his annual wage package. The better performers could receive up to 17% increase.

A new scheme, the MSS (2008) and TSS (2008) will replace the current MSS and TSS respectively with effect from 1 Jan 2008. The key features of the MSS (2008) and TSS (2008) are as follows:

Officers will be placed on salary ranges, which are market-competitive and more closely aligned to market practices. This will replace the current system of fixed annual increment salary scales in the MSS and TSS.

An adjustment of up to 4% and 3% will be made to the monthly salaries of eligible officers in the MSS (2008) and TSS (2008) respectively.

There will be no change to the MSS grade structure.

The TSS grade structure remains unchanged, except for TSO Gr IVA which is the entry grade for graduate officers. As TSS no longer recruits graduate officers, TSO Gr IVA will be removed from the TSS (2008).

Instead of annual fixed increments, officers will enjoy an annual variable merit increment, which will vary according to their potential, performance and market conditions. Officers with D and E performance grades will not receive any merit increment.

The PB framework has been enhanced, to increase the proportion of individual performance-based pay and sharpen the differentiation in PB payouts among officers. Good performers can look forward to an increase in PB of up to 0.35 months while better performers will be rewarded with an increase of up to 0.75 months.

The entry-level salary of a diploma holder will be revised from $1580 to $1630 for a Management Support Officer and from $1650 to $1750 for a Technical Support Officer. Management and Technical Support Officers will enjoy an average increase of 5 to 5.9% in annual salaries, and better performers will see an increase of up to 8.4%.

The Civil Service is also doing more to help the junior officers. Together with the unions, the Public Service Division (PSD) is looking into re-designing jobs for officers in the Corporate Support and Operations Support Schemes to meet future needs of the Service.

The re-designed jobs will give the officers more meaningful and challenging work, thereby enabling them to make a greater contribution to the organisation. They will give the officers a wider range of skills that will enhance their employability.

PSD will work with a few Ministries to pilot some re-designed jobs from January to June 2008. PSD will then review the results of the pilot with the unions. Details on the results will be announced at a later date, towards the second half of 2008.

Training incentives will be introduced to encourage officers to continuously upgrade themselves to enhance their employability. The training incentives, between $200 to $300 per certification, are capped at $400 per annum.

The PB framework for CSS and OSS has been enhanced, to increase the proportion of individual performance-based pay and sharpen the differentiation in PB payouts among officers. Good performers can look forward to an increase in PB of 0.2 months while better performers will be rewarded with an increase of 0.3 to 0.5 months.

Eligible officers in the MXS, MSS and TSS schemes will be given option letters to convert to the MXS (2008), MSS (2008) and TSS (2008) during the option period in November to December 2007.

Officers who opt to join the new schemes will be emplaced on the equivalent substantive grade in the new schemes on 1 Jan 2008. The monthly salary adjustments for eligible officers will take effect from 1 Jan 2008, based on the officers’ gross monthly salary as at 1 Jan 2008.

The changes stem from a four-month review covering all ministries and studies of the job market, according to the PSD.

“For Singapore to stay relevant in the face of global talent competition and rapid change, the Civil Service must attract its fair share of capable people,” said Mr Peter Ho, Head of Civil Service on the review. “That’s why we have introduced mechanisms that are more responsive to market movements,” he added.

Some 170 delegates gave strong endorsement to AUPE’s core leadership when they cast their votes at the 10th Triennial Delegates Conference held at Pan Pacific Hotel on 24 November 2007.

General Secretary Teo Yock Ngee returned to the top post by winning 83.7 per cent of the votes cast.

Incumbents for the other top posts of Vice-President and Deputy General Secretaries were also re-elected by securing more than 80 per cent of the votes cast. They were Mr Rahim Bin Alwi from the National Environment Agency (NEA) Staff Branch, Mr Ma Wei Cheng, Ms Noor Shyma Binte Abdul Latiff, Mr Yeo Chun Fing and Mr Prabhakara Menon from the Union Headquarters respectively.

Former Vice-President C N Balan from the Immigration Checkpoints Authority (ICA) Staff Branch received the baton from outgoing President Abdul Majid Bin Abdul Latiff with strong endorsement from delegates.

Mr Abdul Majid who had been President since 1989, had graciously given way to his younger colleague.

Mr Maniam Murugiah of National Parks Board Staff Branch and Ms Helen Tan of Media Development Authority of Singapore Staff Branch were elected Vice-Presidents (VPs) together with incumbent Mr Rahim Alwi. They secured more than 80 percent of the votes.

Ms Helen Tan’s election to the VP post was a big boost to the women leadership. AUPE did not have a female Vice-President since 2000 when the then VP retired.

Ms Noorfarahin Ahmad of Singapore Tourism Board Staff Branch, former Secretary and AUPE/NTUC Youth leader, was elected uncontested to the post of Assistant General Secretary (AGS). She joined colleagues Mr Unnikrishnan of HQ, Mr M Rajendran of NEA Staff Branch and Mr Ng Hee Seng of ICA Staff Branch in filling up the four posts of AGS.

Former AGS Ricky Cheng of Ministry of Home Affairs Staff Branch replaced former General Treasurer Loy Chee Kang with great endorsement from delegates.

Former Secretaries Mr Tan En Shyang Sean and Mr Jefry Bin Mohamad were elected uncontested as Assistant Treasurers.

There were four new faces among the 6 National Secretaries elected. Mr Edwards Sidney John, Mr Mohd Yusoff Johari, Ms Rajasawari Murugesu and Ms Tan Sze Wei were branch officials in the 40s, 30s and 20s age groups. This signifies the importance of leadership renewal and allow younger counterparts to continue their strive to speak up for workers.

Besides the secretariat, all 31 AUPE branches are represented in the Executive Council, with a representative from each branch.

The newly elected Executive Council for 2007/2010 has an inclusive line-up of leaders with a good blend of the youth and old, new and experienced and male and female. This bodes well for AUPE as it reinvents itself to remain strong, updated and relevant.

The new team will drive new initiatives for the next three years to realise the AUPE 2011 Vision, which is a Better Future for All.

Besides the election of the new Executive Council for term 2007/2011, delegates also unanimously approved the Resolution on the Consolidation of Two Funds, namely, the AUPE Silver Jubilee Scholarship Fund and the AUPE G Kandasamy Endowment Fund.

NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say shared with some 170 AUPE delegates on the attributes of good leadership when he addressed them at the 10th Triennial Delegates Conference on 24 November 2007.

He quoted the situation in China, which he visited recently. Despite its booming economy, China has challenges in the form of three “peaks”, he said. They are the:

Employment Peak – it needs to create 20 million jobs every year for people entering the job market in addition to the 18 million people who had moved from the rural areas to the cities.

Population Peak – it needs to cater for housing and education for its 1.6 billion population.

Ageing Peak –its working population is under increasing strain to support a population, which is rapidly ageing.

To deal with these challenges, China needs leaders who are not only capable, but most importantly, leaders that are able to work with the ground.

SG Lim Swee Say emphasised that a core leadership team is vital to the growth and development of an organisation and ensures that the organisation would continue to grow from strength to strength.

He cited AUPE leaders, the late Mr Paul Tan, former General Secretary, Mr Abdul Majid, outgoing President and Mr Teo Yock Ngee, current General Secretary as leaders who had taken AUPE to what it is today – a well-established public sector union and acknowledged that AUPE is one of the core pillars of the labour movement.

He urged delegates to take pride and treasure its leadership who had painstakingly strived behind the scenes to ensure that the interests of members are taken care of.

Mr Lim also called for an inclusive leadership, which means a team of established unionists, male and female, to form the core leadership team and at the same time younger and new unionists to enable leadership development and renewal.

He mentioned the newly elected NTUC Central Committee with its new inclusive line-up as a good example.

Members should support leaders with a good head and good heart. Workers do not care how much our leaders know until they know how much our leaders care, added Mr Lim.

AUPE Honorary Advisor Mr Matthias Yao, Trustee Mr Ang Hock Soon, NTUC Central Committee members, Directors of NTUC and leaders from the Public Sector unions were among the invited guests for the event.

Job Recreation Programme, Employability of Older Workers, Membership Recruitment and Leadership Development would be the main thrusts of AUPE 2011, the union’s vision for the next five years, said General Secretary Teo Yock Ngee when he presented the Executive Council report at the AUPE 10th Triennial Delegates Conference on 24 November 2007.

The formation of a Civil Service Steering Committee and Working Committee on Job Redesign would be in the works to complement the employability policies. Mr Teo shared that AUPE may set up an advisory centre to help members, especially those in the Corporate Support and Operations Support Schemes of Service in this area.

AUPE would continue to work with the Public Service Division on more Joint Workshops on the Employability of Older Workers. The focus is on workers who are above 40 years of age and those who are nearing retirement age.

Ever embracing the spirit of tripartism, AUPE would work together with the Government and employers to help our workers. We would work with the Employment and Employability Institute to provide courses suitable for our members on skills training and upgrading. We would support the NTUC youth programmes for leadership renewal as well as progress and continuity of the union.

AUPE entities such as the AUPE Multi-Purpose Co-operative, AUPE General Services Co-operative, AUPE Foundation Co-operative and AUPE Sports and Recreation Club have come together to form the AUPE Group. As a Group, we are able to pool resources and function more effectively and efficiently.

All organisations in the AUPE Group would be holding their seminars and put up their respective workplans. These workplans would form part of the master plan for AUPE Group when the union celebrates its 50th anniversary on 26 September 2009.

Likewise Ernst and Young would be conducting an audit on the AUPE Multi-Purpose Co-operative in February 2008. We would take this opportunity to engage it to audit the AUPE Union as well. It may cost some money but it is necessary to quell all doubts and perhaps instill confidence amongst the leaders and members of the Union.

Moving forward, AUPE should also think of having an ISO Certification for our organisation as a whole, such as ISO 9001:2000. This would provide greater confidence to our customers who are our union members and co-operative members.

AUPE had given out more than $100,000 annually to members’ children as study grants, making it one of the top three affiliated unions in promoting and encouraging higher education for children of lower income families.

It would continue with the Birthday cards and gifts as long as it can afford in the coming years. Appreciation for long serving union officials and membership length could be in the form of incentive tour packages, commendation awards, which may be conducted periodically between 4 and 5 years.

The restructuring in the Civil Service has affected AUPE tremendously in terms of membership growth. Looking ahead, it should rethink its strategies and work on fresh ideas to remain strong and vibrant.

In short, AUPE should be more professional in its approach in doing things, managing its objectives and achieve its business goals at the same time.

Mr Abdul Majid, President of AUPE in his opening address at the 10th Triennial Delegates Conference (TDC), touched on the current state of economy and matters concerning the Public Sector as well as the future of the Union. The key points of the President’s speech were captured below:

The Singapore economy has continued to grow rapidly registering a 9.4% in the third quarter, with an average of 8.2% growth so far. It looks set to hit the official forecast of 7% to 8% this year by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Employment has grown by more than 110,000 in the first six months of the year. Overall unemployment rate has come down to about 1.7 % lately. Generally, workers are enjoying good wage increases and bonuses.

The Civil Service has undertaken a comprehensive review on its schemes of service to address specific needs and issues. The Generic Schemes have been completed in late October. AUPE agrees with the principles of benchmarking them to the private sector market and to strengthen the link between pay and performance. However it cautions that an effective performance management system is important to generate confidence and avoid unhappiness in the implementation.

To address this, a one-day workshop on Effective Performance Management in the Public Sector was held on 16 November for Unions’ Executive Council Members to help them better understand performance management systems both in the public and private sectors through sharing of ideas and experiences.

In addition, AUPE leaders have also been following up actively with Ministries, Statutory Boards and Government agencies on matters concerning salary revisions.

Mr Abdul Majid shared that AUPE has been pursuing issues such as employability of mature workers and fair employment practices by employers. The latest initiative is job redesigning which includes skills upgrading to enhance the employability of workers and to prepare them for re-employment.

The recent Pre-Conference Seminar held in Siem Reap, Cambodia for Executive Council members was to concentrate mainly on the future direction of AUPE as a Group.

It was part of the process in working out the respective workplans of the Union, three Co-operatives and the Club, towards a AUPE Group Master Plan when we celebrate the Union’s 50th Anniversary in September 2009.

AUPE would continue to support leadership development and provide more opportunities for education and training. Efforts would be re-doubled to recruit and retain members. A new network most probably in the form of team or cluster approach would be developed to better serve the entire Union and Co-operative membership.

Mr Abdul Majid expressed his appreciation for the delegates’ support of a younger secretariat line-up. Besides the 6 posts of National Secretary, AUPE would look at the cohort of 26 Committee members who are in the 20s. Some could be appointed as Assistant Secretaries and assigned special functions.

One outstanding AUPE and NTUC Youth leader had been nominated as Assistant General Secretary and two younger leaders were nominated as Assistant Treasurers. In total, we would have 9 out of 18, half of them in place for leadership development and renewal.

In support of leadership renewal, Mr Abdul Majid would be stepping down as President to give way to new blood.

AUPE would like to express our appreciation and gratitude to Comrade Abdul Majid for his contributions to the Union. He had served in the Executive Council for 28 years, his last 18 as President.