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KUALA NERUS: The Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) hopes that there is still room for discussion between them and the government before the new policy of non-pensionable appointment of civil servants is implemented.

Its president, Datuk Adnan Mat, said Cuepacs believes that the existing pension system is the most suitable for civil servants’ financial well-being in their retirement.

“If the government decides to make changes to the Public Service Remuneration System (SSPA),  including the potential abolition of this pension scheme, then a substantial increase in salaries is necessary so that we can contribute (to the Employees Provident Fund) and save adequately for our retirement,” he told reporters at the Solidarity Event with Cuepacs President in the Eastern Zone last night.

Adnan said civil servants’ salaries are currently ‘just enough to get by’, leaving some civil servants unable to afford their own homes, adding that the existing pension system serves as a crucial facility for post-retirement life.

He expressed concern that the decision to abolish pension benefits would spell disaster for the civil service in the future.

Meanwhile, he reiterated that the government must immediately increase the salaries of civil servants without waiting for the implementation of the SSPA, which may be finalised by the end of this year, given the rising cost of living and prices of goods.