2020 dealt a tough blow on many, including civil servants who didn’t receive their mid-year and year-end bonus.
Things, however, are looking more optimistic in 2021.
On Friday (18 Jun), the Public Service Division (PSD) announced that Civil Servants will receive a 0.3-month mid-year bonus for 2021.
In addition, those in junior grades will receive an additional one-off payment of up to $700.
In a press release on Friday (18 Jun), the PSD explained that they decided on the 0.3-month mid-year Annual Variable Component (AVC) after close consultation with the public sector unions.
Civil Servants in junior grades will also receive a one-off payment on top of the bonus:
Moving forward, the Government will take into account the National Wages Council guidelines, which will be released later this year, when deciding on the year-end AVC.
PSD thanks the public officers for their service during the pandemic and said the Public Service stands in solidarity with all Singaporeans.
After an unprecedented 2020, the Singapore economy is expected to grow in 2021 along with the global economy and our domestic vaccination progress, said PSD.
Unlike the previous year, Singapore has seen a 1.3% year-on-year growth in Q1 2021.
This is a sharp contrast to the 2.4% contraction the previous quarter.
Other metrics such as total employment, overall unemployment and total retrenchment have also seen more promising figures.
However, “significant downside risks” still loom given the unpredictable nature of the pandemic.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry has thus maintained its GDP growth forecast of 4-6% for 2021.
Even so, the pace of recovery is likely to be uneven across different sectors of the economy.
The 0.3-month mid-year AVC must come as great news for Civil Servants, many of whom serve as frontline workers during the pandemic.
We hope this is a promising sign of things to come this year as we emerge from the shadows of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Featured image adapted from Xinhua.
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