Federation of the Unions of Administrative Assistants (Gapeta) president Anuar Mamat said its members are disappointed that their salaries have seen little change, compared to those working in services like teaching and the health sector who have seen upgrades several times over the last five decades.

He said they have to attend numerous upskilling courses as their roles now involve online multitasking, adding that they should be redesignated as assistant administrative officers to reflect what they do professionally.

Anuar said Gapeta has sent the prime minister a memorandum urging him to review the SSPA before it is implemented in December, arguing that they are the backbone of the civil service.

For example, he said, the starting pay of administrative assistants with SPM qualification is currently RM1,352 a month on the N19 scale, lower than the national minimum wage of RM1,500.

“Under the proposed SSPA, the grade will be known as N1 with a starting minimum wage of RM1,500.

“They receive housing and civil service allowances of about RM600. On this scale, the maximum basic salary they will earn after about 25 years will only be RM4,003.

“We have asked the government for these officers to be placed on the N5 scale under the SSPA where they start from RM1,650 and reach a maximum of RM6,620. This will be commensurate with their current job scope,” he told FMT.

Anuar said many of them have improved themselves academically, with some even having degrees and diplomas, but they have to wait a long time before they are upgraded, depending on the vacancies available.