CUEPACS, labor union for civil servants in Malaysia, given current environment of large fiscal deficit and economic uncertainty, has the audacity to demand for bonus.[1] The demand is not met, as evident by absence of such bonus in the proposed federal government budget tabled nearly two weeks ago. Today, the Prime Minister rightly admonished — admonished awfully understates the situation since the PM said demand is “morally wrong” — the union in the process.[2]
As a taxpayer staring at the possibility of higher tax in the future, that demand clearly is impossible to meet. The large fiscal deficit due to combination of structural and cyclical factors must be tackled and at the moment, I would probably be grudgingly willing to suffer increased taxes if government spending sees reduction at the same. I however would like to see those who fail to pay their taxes be brought to book first before having to suffer from a tax hike, although that is a different issue that I will not delve farther here.
Returning to my point, granting such bonus will only increase the likelihood of tax increase without a reduction of government size, which is already bloated.
You know what?
If they really want their bonus, I can be amenable to that but only on one condition: a lot of civil servants need to lose their job. This means badly performing civil servants have to go through the door. I will not mind having high quality and productive civil servants, which definitely will mean smaller workforce, being paid good bonus.
The union is a vote bank. That is probably why it has the audacity to do this. In this case, its audacity comes at the expense of taxpayers. That is intolerable.
Money does not grow on tree, mate.
[1] — KUALA LUMPUR: Cuepacs wants the Government to pay the 1.2 million civil servants a two-month bonus this year.
It hopes the Government will include the bonus in Budget 2010 plus a similar incentive for 400,000 pensioners, said the umbrella body’s president Omar Osman. [Cuepacs seeks bonus of two months for govt staff. The Star. October 18 2009]
[2] — KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 — It is morally wrong to ask for bonuses while the country is still struggling to sail out of the economic downturn and people in the private sector are being retrenched, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today.
”It’s morally wrong to ask for bonus when the economy has not recovered. I keep telling Cuepacs (president Omar Osman) that it cannot be just like a trade union, shout for bonus every time (there is budget) because you want to (remain) popular among your members,” he said. [Najib slams Cuepacs as ”˜immoral’ to demand bonus. Bernama. October 18 2009]