In a statement today, in view of mounting protests against the abolition of the allowance, JPA said RM899.3 million was spent on BIPK in 2018. This year, it went up by RM70.2 million (7.8%) to RM969.5 million.
Next year, JPA said BIPK payments will go up RM79.8 million (an increase of 8.1%).
In 2020, BIPK payments will reach RM1.05 billion, RM1.14 billion in 2021 and RM1.24 billion in 2022.
The statement did not indicate how many civil servants will enjoy the BIPK next year but said 135,902 staff in 33 different professions were given the allowance at the end of 2017.
JPA’s table, attached to the statement, indicates the cost of paying BIPK is expected to increase by RM100 million by 2022.
A such, it felt the allowance ought to be abolished for newcomers in the civil service from now.
JPA also said although the BIPK is being abolished, there was a plethora of other allowances given to those in the civil service, based on work risks, hardships and expertise.
“For instance, a medical officer with a grade UD41 (housemen) still enjoy flexi-working hours payment (overtime pay) of RM600 a month, taking into account the hardship of the duty and long hours.
“On-call allowances for medical officers are still given to those recalled to work outside working hours.
“Medical and dental specialists are given incentives of RM1,600 to RM3,100 a month.
“Pilots and flight examiners are also given incentives of between RM4,500 and RM8,000 a month,” it said.
In a study it conducted this year, JPA said it found the top five requests for allowances were from research officers, engineers, assistant vocational training officers, factory machine inspectors and TV programme producers.
JPA also said the removal of critical allowances was nothing new, as numerous allowances had been removed over the years.
It said under a circular this year, nine types of allowances were removed.
JPA said it had also conducted numerous studies over the past 27 years since the critical services allowance was introduced.
“The government will continue to consider applications to review allowances. In reviewing the allowances, careful consideration has to be given as they have financial implications for the government.”
Yesterday, the JPA said the decision to stop paying the critical service allowance was taken after a careful review mandated by the Government Remuneration System (SSB), introduced in 1992.
It said the critical allowance is designed to be needs-based and is not permanent.
It is subject to revision every five years, adding that the last review was done 12 years ago.
JPA said based on a review this year, it was decided that all 33 public sector services “no longer fulfil the criteria for the incentives”.