To address growing challenges in recruiting public servants, a government expert panel recommended raising salaries to be on par with those at major firms.
The panel suggested to the National Personnel Authority that wages for government officials should be roughly the same as those in private companies with at least 100 employees, rather than those with 50 employees, the current threshold.
The experts also stated that high-level policymakers deserve salaries on par with those offered by the nation’s largest employers, with at least 1,000 workers.
Other proposals include measures to address long working hours and review the current personnel evaluation system.
The panel’s report describes the recruitment shortage of public servants as a “critical situation,” warning of threats to public life if the issue is left unaddressed.
Once the traditional career path for the nation’s best and brightest, top-tier government jobs are losing their appeal to more lucrative positions in tech, finance, consulting and other sectors.
An increasing number of talented young people are rejecting the idea of working long hours in the bureaucracy for decades, only to reach top positions with pay they consider insufficient.
Over the past decade, the number of applicants for civil servant exams has dropped by 30 percent.
Additionally, the number of government employees leaving within 10 years of service has risen significantly, from 66 in fiscal 2014 to 203 in fiscal 2023.
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