MARK BARNES: Superhero public servants deserve super-salaries
Without incentives, the state rewards mediocrity and outperformance in equal measure
Public servants are paid too little. Accurate figures are difficult to find in the public domain, but there’s enough information to conclude that private sector managers and leaders (particularly at CEO level) earn significant multiples (10 times or more) of what their counterparts in the public sector are paid.
CEOs of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are paid about double what the CEOs (directors-general) of government departments receive, while ministers get less than either. Perks add about 30% to the basic salaries, but remuneration is fixed, regardless of performance. Teachers, medical practitioners and social workers are also paid less than they earn. But it’s not about the numbers. It’s about the value of the contribution and the structure of the reward...
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