Public sector to adopt performance-based salaries

The government plans to adopt a performance-based salary system on a wider scale as part of its efforts to reform the public sector, government sources said Thursday.

Public companies and government agencies frequently come under criticism for lax management and mounting debts usually covered by taxpayers’ money.

In response, the government has pushed forward with the full introduction of a system to encourage competition among public servants since it has so far been applied only to the heads of some public agencies.

“The government will now push ahead with the performance-based salary system in government offices after reflecting the situation, such as the agreement among labor, management and the government,” said a high-ranking government official who requested anonymity.

The government plans to make the final decision based on an evaluation process of some 300 public agencies by the first quarter of this year and adopt the system before the end of this year.

Performance-based salaries are usually calculated and granted based on the volume of work and achievements made by individual workers.

The decision is seen as the government‘s determination to push for reform in the labor sector intended to make the market more flexible and help revitalize the sagging economy.

The Federation of Korean Trade Unions, the country’s major umbrella labor union that represented labor in the trilateral talks, said Tuesday it has decided to break the trilateral deal on labor reform, accusing the government of unilaterally releasing reform measures.

The union also said it will not participate in future talks with management and the government to address major labor issues. (Yonhap)