The ongoing dispute between the finance ministry and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) has heated up, after the CSC warned it would take legal action against any CSC member who prepares a wages bill with the reduced salaries.
A letter circulated among permanent secretaries urged them to send the salary sheets to the finance ministry with the restored levels, and said employees who prepared the wage bill would have to bear responsibility both for the reduced salary and disregarding the CSC’s directive.
The finance ministry retaliated by threatening legal action against government payroll officers who failed to fill out a reduced salary sheet, while a highly-placed source in the government said political appointees rather than civil servants would fill out the salary sheets.
On 13 January the finance ministry issued a statement directing all government institutions to make out the salary sheets according to the reduced amount, claiming that the three month period of reduced civil servant pay is to be increased until the government’s “special circumstances” are resolved.
The CSC has meanwhile announced that the finance ministry’s agreement to reduce civil servants’ salary for three months is now over, claimed that all civil servants must receive their full salary starting from this month.
The country’s political parties divided over the issue.
The opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) claimed the finance ministry “has no right” to deduct the salary of civil servants.
DRP member Mohamed Hussain ”Mundhu” Shareef said the party was resolute that civil servants would receive the same salaries as before.
“When President Nasheed came to the administration, reducing the amount of civil servants to from 29,000 to 18,000 was not in his manifesto,” Mundhu said, accusing him “of torturing the people”.
Reducing, increasing and resolving civil servants salaries was in the hands of the CSC, he said, and that the finance ministry was unable to set the salary against the CSC’s wishes.
Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed “Colonel” Nasheed said the salary crisis was a national issue and an “economic domino” waiting to fall.
“If the CSC is upset there are a lot of problems we face other than civil servants salaries,” he said.
Nasheed suggested that the government institutions involved needed to get together and come to an agreement.
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If Civil Service Commission and Civil servants are unable to shoulder the burden that is of a national priority, then everyone that is affected by recession need to take it to the streets. All private sector should start protesting over lower incomes due to recessions.
This is an important step, to ensure macro fundamentals remain intact. Otherwise the consequences can be devastating. This will disadvantage the fixed salaried employees, especially civil servants.
I wonder when can these guys start thinking outside the four walls and start looking at the bigger picture. If the government were to print money to pay the salary, it will lead to further deterioration of the value of Rufiyaa and lead exponential inflation.
DRP-PA very well know about this and they want this to happen. As chaos is the only opportunity that will bring them back to power. Like extremists flourish during crisis times.
The Government should seriously consider reducing the work hours. I am sure, majority of civil servants will be really happy to work short hours with reduce pay. Work loads of the Government offices have not increased except few Ministries.
By reducing working hours, the Government could save extra monies spend for electricity and other overheads.
Imagine, we have over 400 offices (Island Offices and Island Courts) in two hundred islands. No extra works to work for long hours.
The Maldives being small island nations, we must take its inherit advantages of geography.
The economic crisis is a national issue, not just an issue for the civil servants. How can it be resolved by cutting the salaries of the civil servants, who receive a salary that is substantially lower than political figures.
So why aren't their salaries being cut? Why appoint more & more of these highly paid political figures while cutting down the number & the salaries of much lower-paid civil servants? Why does the the issue of devaluation of MRF & deficit only come up in relation to the salaries of the civil servants? What about all the councilors, so many state ministers, advisors? This is atrocious!
In regards to the ultimatum by the Ministry of Finance, the law states that CSC is the body to set /enforce regulations, the salaries, working times etc of civil servants & also protect their rights.
Ministry of Finance has no right by law or otherwise to threat the civil servants. The civil servants was instructed by CSC to do the salary sheets according to the normal salary & there is no law in this so-called democratic nation that says a civil servant can be penalised by another body for following a directive from CSC.
one of the interesting things to note in this salary fiasco is that almost all those who are for the salary cut & believe Ministry of finance is just are non-civil servants!