Well compensated?
There is a common belief in Pakistan that civil servants are at a disadvantage compared to their counterparts in the private sector in terms of their salary packages. A recent study by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), Islamabad, suggests otherwise. The study, Cash Poor, Perks Rich, quantifies the total pay package for each grade by consolidating pay, allowances, non-monetary benefits and intangible rewards. This can help resolve the so-called mystery around the civil servants’ total compensation. Whether civil servants are adequately paid is widely debated but has never been thoroughly investigated. One reason is that not all payments and rewards in Pakistan’s civil service are on the pay slip. PIDE’s study on civil service compensation, within the broader theme of civil service reforms, offers valuable insights in this regard. It is certainly a tough exercise because the current reward system is a cobweb of cash remunerations, in-kind payments and intangible rewards.
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