Hun Sen has raised the salaries of contractual officials who work at ministries and institutions. HUN SEN’S FACEBOOK PAGE
Prime Minister Hun Sen has raised the monthly salaries of contractual officials who work at the national and sub-national level in ministries and institutions, effective from January 1, next year, by 20,000 riel ($5) – from 650,000 riel to 670,000 riel.
On Wednesday, he signed a sub-decree which states: “Salary raise as dictated under Article 1 is effective for contractual officials who work at the national and sub-national level ministries and institutions.
“It is in compliance with a sub-decree dated February 10, 2016, on the management and employment of contractual officials.”
Ministry of Civil Service spokesman Youk Bunna told The Post on Thursday that the policy was implemented in the government framework to ensure that pay raises for civil servants and contractual officials keep up with the inflation rate, considering the fast-growing economy.
“As we see that there can be inflation of three per cent for this year, the government decided to provide more support for the civil servants and contractual officials,” he said.
Bunna said that besides the salary, the contractual officials receive benefits from the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) to cover medical fees similar to civil servants.
Currently, the contractual officials number more than 20,000.
Affiliated Network for Social Accountability executive director San Chey told The Post on Thursday that the majority of the contractual officials are located in remote areas in provinces.
A sufficient means (salary) of supporting oneself has been measured by comparing the salary to prices of goods in the market.
“We acknowledge that goods prices are implemented based on free-market principles. But we still want to have a balance when compared to the people’s [non-civil servants] income.
“When it comes to this sufficiency, it is difficult to find an indicator to measure. But other components can contribute to a reduction in spending, in terms of market goods, so that the prices of goods match the spending power of civil servants according to their salaries,” Chey said.
The government raised the salary of contractual officials from 400,000 riel to 500,000 riel in 2017, and from 500,000 riel to 600,000 riel last year.
