- Ensures long-term sustainability of the policy.
Salaries and wages
A salary or wage is a monetary reward paid to an employee in exchange for labour. The
needs of permanent employees and seasonal/monthly employees are, in principle, the
same and they are equally rewarded. Once a job evaluation has been done, the job grade
of each individual is used to decide the basic salary.
To ensure that salaries are competitive, the company participates in salary surveys
but within the company’s anticipated ability to afford the levels of salary packages be-
ing paid. However, where an individual has the necessary experience and qualifications
required for a position, the general manager approves an increase in the minimum sal-
ary. The general manager has at his discretion the power to adjust an individual salary if
it is felt that it is justified.
- Salary reviews
Salary reviews for permanent staff are done in August every two years after the renewal
of the voluntary agreement or when the government announces a change in the mini-
mum wage in line with the budget for the requisite year. Wages for seasonal/contract
general staff remain as being paid at the minimum of the current salary scale except for
certain specified categories of seasonal staff with certificates and employed in specified
areas. However, their minimum wages are reviewed after every general review of the
salary or when the government minimum wage board has approved and notified a new
national minimum wage that is higher than the company’s minimum wage. - Increments
An increment is an increase in salary of a prescribed amount which, provided certain
conditions are satisfied, is normally granted annually to a holder of a post on incre-
mental scales of salary until the top of the scale is reached. Apart from disciplinary ac-
tion, which could result in an increment being stopped, the conditions for the increase
are in most cases that the work and conduct of the employee during the incremental
period has been satisfactory.
When there are further conditions, as may be contained in the employees scheme of
service or some other special condition imposed, such as the passing of a language test
or other examination after due notice has been given and conditions are not met, salary
increment may be stopped. If for any reason, it is decided that an increment be stopped,
the employee is advised in writing of the decision stating the period for which the in-
crement is stopped provided that an employee’s increment is not stopped without such
an employee having first been given an opportunity to prove why the increment should
not be stopped.
An increment ‘stopped’ means no-payments for a specified period of an increment
otherwise due. When salary increment is not at all granted during an incremental year,
for whatever reason, normally only one increment is granted on the next incremental
date. In exceptional cases, however, and with the sanction of the disciplinary authority
an employee may be granted an additional increment, or such increment as would bring
his salary to that point in the scale which he would have reached had his increment been
granted when due. The appointing authority has the discretion to award additional in-
crements to any employee who performs duties outstandingly but does not secure pro-
motion due to unavoidable factors such as lack of vacancies, provided that the appoint-
ing authority does not award more than two increments at any one time.