Three letters I wrote to ST Forum:

Published online, April 13, 2007

Increase job satisfaction among our civil servants

'ONLY in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honour'. This verse from the Bible struck me when I read the article on 'S'pore workers in big demand for key jobs abroad' (ST, April 9). No prizes for guessing why the report surfaced amid the buzz on ministerial pay increments. It undoubtedly highlighted the urgency to implement measures to retain public-sector talent. Still, the focus on finding the best benchmarking formula has diverted attention away from the intangibles that make the work attractive.

I do agree to some extent that the emphasis on money is important. Being a politician is not easy and all the more so in Singapore given the high expectations of the Government. Burn-out is common and that is when people begin to ponder whether their remuneration commensurate with their sweat and tears shed. However, I concur with what MP Denise Phua mentioned in her speech on how we also need to 'cultivate more lasting and non-monetary motivators to usher in and retain good people in the public sector' (ST, April 11). We need to adopt this approach for the entire civil service, not only those on the higher rungs.

We need to consider how we can increase job satisfaction among our civil servants. For instance, job aspects can be improved so that people do not feel that they are literally 'servants' to the public but take pride in their service towards nation-building. Often, individuals fail to see how seemingly trivial tasks contribute to a larger picture with a significant outcome (for example. how the mundane job of a checkpoints officer contributes to national security). The entire debate on pay is shifting the focus towards self-interest and away from the intrinsic motivation that keeps people where they are.

Perhaps the aforementioned Bible verse holds some truth here. While we do acknowledge our good Government, we sometimes fail to recognise the good workers (from the highest to the lowest rank) in the government sector. It is not easy for police officers, for instance, to serve the public and yet get yelled at during the course of duty. Being appreciated by the public is important. I hope that through this recent spate of debates, more will come to realise the critical role civil servants play. Pay increments are good but other factors are crucial too.

Charlene Chen Yijun (Ms)

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Published online, April 13, 2007

An under-rated education system in Singapore?

THE UWC win over the local schools in the recent debates on 'The Arena' has been the talk of the town for a couple of weeks now and some have pointed their fingers at the local education system as being the cause behind the overwhelming defeat. According to the article in the Sunday Times (April 8), several are under the opinion that our local students, as compared to their foreign counterparts, were not as proficient in thinking on their feet and were capable only of acing exams. Prior to this, it was not uncommon to hear similar criticism of our education system.

The interesting thing was that in the same paper, there was an Insight special on 'Behind the Education Scene' which touched on how our education system has progressed and evolved over the years. In fact, other nations want to model their system on ours. This is indeed laudable and I believe it is the success story of the leaders and workers in the education scene who have contributed their heart and soul to this calling of theirs. I'm especially proud that Singapore does not succumb to the international trends in education policy but we fashion our own system and have become a trend-setter in this aspect within the region.

Unfortunately, there are many of us who still fail to appreciate the greater flexibility introduced into the system over the years, and stick to the belief that the system is still as rigid as before. I applaud The Straits Times for doing this segment to raise awareness of the initiatives being carried out to make the system a more flexible one. Our polytechnics and ITEs are grooming a rising number of talents and there is a growing variety of courses for students to choose from. Importantly, the point on having good leaders to drive the system was duly emphasised. We definitely need brilliant people to help us plan and execute education policies which have such great impact on the economy.

Charlene Chen Yijun (Ms)

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Unplublished

Unhappiness looms because......

There have been some grouses following the revelation of the revised pay package for civil servants on Monday (9 April). Perhaps, the manner in which the matter is communicated can be done better. Recurring themes in messages of how the government has been responsible for our world class status and how the government is held in high regard by foreign governments have become ineffective to the extent of sounding a little annoying. Also, the whole talk about retaining people has made it seem as though we are just paying people for their brains. Help the public understand the nature of the job that makes it justifiable for them to command higher pay, apart from constantly repeating that they could have earned more elsewhere or that they could be poached by the private sector. These are not convincing because it can be argued that money should not be the main motivation for joining politics. Does that mean that many of them will quit if there is no pay rise? People need to know exactly why top officials deserve the higher pay.

In addition, the news of higher pay for entrants into the service has not been going down well with existing civil servants who will not get a monthly pay revision. Although it was stated clearly how annual pay will increase with the performance-based lump sum accorded, it just seems puzzling why monthly pay has stayed put for the lower ranking civil servants but has increased for the higher officials. Undoubtedly, the more competitive pay for new entrants will be a good incentive to "lure" people to join the civil service and alleviates the problem of manpower shortages. However, the problem of attrition is not resolved because existing workers will move out after they receive their bonuses. Many may come in but at the same time many may exit after a while. People need to see the long term benefits of the new pay package, not just the short-term gain. Moreover, job satisfaction must increase to help retain people. Pay in the private sector is more volatile compared to the government. When the economy is good, private sector employees earn more. Government pay on the other hand does not adjust so flexibly. Hence, we need to use other measures to keep workers. Many underlying concerns and questions need to be addressed.