Govt needs time to consider salary increase: finance minister
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Finance Minister Win Shein said the government will take time to consider a salary increase for more than 1.4 million government employees.
The government still needs to ascertain whether this would unleash a negative effect on commodity prices for the population of more than 50 million, he said.
MP Win Than submitted an urgent proposal to parliament on November 26, urging the government to report on its plan for dealing with the recent proposal to increase civil servants' salaries in the coming fiscal year.
The parliament approved the salary increase proposal on November 11. If approved by the government, it would take effect on April 1, 2015.
The finance minister responded to the MP, saying, "First, consequences of the salary increase will be taken into account. We are making a detailed calculation for the increase that will cover all the staff. It is not completed yet. Not all staff of the government are permanent, and some are on employed only on daily basis."
“The government is making constant efforts to increase salaries for civil servants. In doing so, it also needs to take account of salary increases for retired civil servants. The government also needs to adjust the figures both on paper and on the ground,” Win Shein said.
"This proposal is very auspicious. The government's main duty is to serve the interests of people and the country. The government and civil servants are just like the parent and offspring. It is the duty of the government to serve the interests of its offspring," he added.
Lae Lae Thein, Deputy Minister for National Planning and Economic Development, said she agreed with the salary increase proposal.
There is also a motion to amend a law, which will raise MP salary to up to Ks 1.6 million (US$ 1,600).
Upper House MP Zone Hle Htan last week came out to support the motion. He said that the change is necessary or no qualified candidates would seek to join parliament.
He implied that it does not matter how much lawmakers in other countries earn, as that depends on economic success at each country. The issue here, he noted, is Myanmar parliamentarians have difficulties going down to faraway areas “because we have to spend money out of our own pockets”.
The World Bank has forecast that GDP growth in Myanmar would be 8.5 per cent this year and next year.
The International Monetary Fund also forecast GDP growth in Myanmar to be 8.5 per cent this year, but warned that there were risks. Inflation is among them.
The World Bank estimates inflation in Myanmar at 7 per cent this year. Risks that it would spike depend on several factors. One is the US dollar/kyat exchange rate which could lead to a spike in the prices of imported goods. Civil servants' salary increase could also fuel inflation expectation.
