Editorial
Possible salary hike for government servants
Measures to contain inflation should receive priority
THERE is surely a rationale behind the intention of the government to consider a salary hike for government servants, given the runaway nature of the prices of essential commodities in recent times. It is against such a backdrop that the finance advisor's remarks on a need for a salary increase for government servants can be observed.
That said, there are quite a few questions which come up with any move for a pay rise in the government sector. In the past, that is, as recently as three years ago, a rise in salary for government servants quickly and inexorably led to an inflationary trend in the market. Our collective experience suggests that salary hikes in the past were generally moves that were not clearly thought through by the powers that were, which is why those moves led to an abnormal rise in prices in the market. In other words, what the government servants were getting in one hand was quickly being lost through the other, in this case because of inflation and the propensity of traders ready to pounce on those coming home with their new salaries. Indeed, there are instances galore to show that every announcement of an intended hike in government salary led to an instant rise in prices even before the raise took effect. That makes one wonder: how wise is it for the authorities to reveal salary related plans long before the plans are actually put in place? In our bid to adjust salaries to the rate of inflation -- we cannot go the whole hog in a resource poor country -- what we do in the process fuel inflation the brunt of which is of course taken by the vast majority of people.
It is these factors that the government ought to bear in mind when it mulls over salary hike issues. In the present scenario, we should concentrate on rejuvenating the economy by adopting appropriate fiscal and monetary policies that will also help curb inflation. Thereupon, we put in place a logical enhancement of salaries and wages across the board, not just in one sector.
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