Pay rise set for Bahrain's public sector employees
Manama, June 18, 2014
Government employees in Bahrain could soon be set for a 20 per cent pay rise under a new spending bill approved by parliament yesterday (June 17).
MPs voted unanimously in favour of the government-drafted bill, based on a parliamentary proposal, despite objections from Minister of State for Parliament and Shura Council Affairs Abdulaziz Al Fadhel, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.
If approved by Shura, the move would cost the government an extra BD95 million ($250.7 million) annually - but is set to benefit an estimated 48,000 Bahraini and non-Bahraini public sector workers, according to the minister.
Al Fadhel said that the government had already given civil servants, including military and security personnel, 15 per cent pay rises and an increased monthly living-standards allowance ranging between BD50 and BD60 just three years ago.
"The pay rise in 2011 cost the government BD200 million and saw average wages for lower-paid jobs increase by 36 per cent, while it increased by 25 per cent for senior-ranked officials," he said.
"An additional rise disregards the government's new financial policies and efforts to reduce unnecessary spending."
The Pension Fund Authority's (PFA) finances would also take a hit due to the nature of the increase, Al Fadhel said, as a parallel increase in pension contributions was not being proposed.
Meanwhile, MPs voted in favour of a government-drafted amendment to the PFA law that will see an investment company established within a year to manage all funds in accordance with Sharia law, and referred it to the Shura Council. - TradeArabia News Service
