A PROPOSAL submitted to the annual session of the MPC by Luohu District deputies calling for increased wages and benefits for public servants has been widely criticized.
Peng Guihua, deputy director of the standing committee of the Luohu District People s Congress, and other district deputies said in their submission that salaries and compensation packages for government employees should be increased and housing subsidies provided, the Southern Metropolis Daily said yesterday.
Peng argued that the salaries of Shenzhen government employees were not as competitive as wages in neighboring Dongguan. They were also lower than public service wages in Suzhou in Jiangsu Province and Ningbo in Zhejiang Province.
The salary level of Shenzhen public servants is not in accordance with the economic growth, Peng said in the proposal, suggesting the city government adopt a series of benefits, including free membership to fitness clubs and discounted admissions to the city s sports and recreation facilities, to improve the living standard of public servants.
Peng s proposal backfired when it was published on a microblog at www.sina.com.cn with thousands of residents ridiculing the proposal as an abuse of power.
Who on earth is she representing at the people s congress? questioned one Internet user. She is suspected of abusing power to seek benefits for the interest group of government employees like herself.
Some netizens said it was a mistake to appoint government officials as MPC deputies. The MPC is supposed to be an agency to supervise the government, but now MPC deputies are working hard to seek benefits for the government, said a resident calling himself big rabbit and little wolf.
Government jobs in Shenzhen, even in the whole country, have in recent years been the most sought-after by experienced professionals and fresh university graduates, because the positions are stable and well-paid.
Tens of thousands of jobseekers sit exams for government jobs every year. A record average of 3,000 people competed for one government job nationwide last year, statistics showed. The China Daily reported Sunday that the annual National Public Service Exam last month attracted more than 1 million candidates for a disproportionate 16,000 vacancies.
Peng could not be reached for comment. The Southern Metropolis Daily said a contact number Peng had left in the proposal did not exist. Another deputy who supported the proposal admitted to the Daily that it was inappropriate to ask for increased salaries for public servants. (SD News)
