-Whilst Gov’t workforce rises to over 66K employees
By J-Karba Williams
As the CDC government begins Payroll Harmonization, the Director-General of Civil Service Agency (CSA) has disclosed that there are 66,538 employees on the payroll.
This means that there is an increase in the number of government workers from the previous administration of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who had a workforce of some 44,000.
CSA Director General, Madam Laurine Johnson told the MICAT regular Thursday press conference in Monrovia, that the government pay structure has now been harmonized in the new 2019/2020 draft national budget. The budget, which was presented to the Legislature by Executive, is currently before Lawmakers for scrutiny.
She said payroll harmonization is the process through which salary of employees with the same position are fully or partially matched to minimize salary disparity, adding that the government is now harmonizing pay to create equity.
This means that payroll across government is being structured in a way by reducing or eliminating the huge salary disparity that currently exists, mainly of the discretional assignment mainly as a result of payment of general allowance.
Under current structure, Madam Johnson said the top 1% earned about 13.3% of the total wage bill with monthly median pay at US3,571, while the bottom 20% earned only 4.6% with monthly median pay at just US$125, noting that under the harmonized system, the top 1% share of the wage bill will reduce to 9.8% from 13.3%, while the bottom 20% increased from 4.6% to 8.1% with monthly median pay will increase from US125 to US225.
According to the CSA boss, through the harmonization and downward while other civil servants who were adjustment beginning July 2019, the wage of the top 1% will reduce to 12.7% from 13.3% with median pay reduced to US$3.214 from US$3.571.
These employees include teachers, health workers, security officers, foreign service employees and presidential appointees among others, adding that the CSA developed and implemented grade for civil servants that earned basic and these civil servants about 43,000, represented only government ministries and agencies, while other civil servant who were not under the CSA, but paid through the general allowance were not graded.
Madam Johnson pointed out 56,338 of 85% of the 66,538 employees were protected from any downward adjustment in pay, adding “they include teachers, health workers, Foreign Service employees and employees who are currently earning below their assessed pay grade.
The CSA Director-General also said that that 14,900 or 27% of the protected employees will get an immediate monthly pay beginning July 2019, saying US$50.00 added to the salary of each Liberian National Fire Service (LNF) officer and officer of the Liberia National Drug Enforcement Agency (LEAD).
According to her, US$36.00 has been apportioned in addition to the monthly salary of each police officer of the Liberia National Police (LNP), US$30 for each soldier of the Armed Forces of Liberia, US$15.00 on the monthly salary of each Probational and Correction Officer, while 3,500 teachers currently earning between US$40-US$75.00 on the supplementary payroll of the Ministry of Education will each get a monthly salary of US$100.00 and 114 health workers within the Ministry of Health currently earning below US$100 each will now earn US$100 on monthly.
The announced salary increments are slated to take effect from the end of July this year.