PETALING JAYA: Cuepacs considers Budget 2023 a disappointment as it did not address the issue of rising cost of living which continues to be a burden on civil servants.
Its president Adnan Mat said there was no commitment by the government to raise the wages of civil servants to match the high cost of living in the federal budget tabled by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“Wages are an urgent matter at this point in time because it is no longer relevant with the current cost of living, especially in light of the drastic hike in the price of food, healthcare and housing,” he said in a statement.
Adnan said that civil servants are now hoping for a better wage system as it has not been revised since November 2002 and it is not suitable given the current economic situation.
Housing for civil servants was also not brought up in Budget 2023, he said.
“The one member one house programme (SASaR) for military personnel must be extended to all civil servants. They are not asking for free housing but for affordable housing that is suitable for their wages.”
Cuepacs said it hopes that the government will pay more attention to the needs of civil servants as it had on multiple occasions wanted to reverse the wages system but there has been no development so far.
Earlier today, Anwar tabled Budget 2023, announcing an allocation of RM388.1 billion.
Among the goodies that were announced for civil servants include early redemption of cash in lieu of accumulated leave (GCR) of up to 50% with a maximum of 90 days, as well as the provision of Aidilfitri special financial assistance of RM700 to all civil servants Grade 56 and below, including those on contract.