PUTRAJAYA, 12 Dec 2008: Civil servants will be able to accumulate their ‘golden handshake’ up to 150 days, an increase of 30 days, beginning next year.
Cuepacs president Omar Osman said the circular on the longer golden handshake would be issued soon.
He said he was informed about the longer ‘golden handshake’ by the Public Service Department (PSD) director-general Tan Sri Ismail Adam, at a meeting here today.
“We consider the decision as a positive move although the government has decided to reduce the annual leave for new employees by five days beginning
January, 2009,” he said.
The ‘golden handshake’ is the annual leave accumulated in lieu of cash that the civil servant will receive upon retirement. Currently, a maximum of 15 days’ leave can be accumulated annually for the golden handshake of up to 120 days.
On the government’s decision to reduce the annual leave for new employees from 30 days to 25 days beginning next year, Omar said that after the meeting with Ismail today, Cuepacs accepted the rationale for the move as a means of raising productivity in the public sector, in line with its role as the motivator for national development.
In addition, he said, there were many public holidays whether at the national or state level throughout the year.
Yesterday, Cuepacs secretary-general Ahmad Shah Mohd Zin was reported to have said that the move to reduce the annual leave was ‘unfair’ and disadvantageous to civil servants in the long run. — Bernama
