PLA should pay officers more in bid to promote military professionalism, article says
The People's Liberation Army should pay higher salaries to make military careers more attractive and enhance the social status of serving soldiers, article in PLA Daily advocates
An article published in the PLA Daily on Monday called for a pay increase for officers as an important step in pushing forward professionalism in the military.
“[The country] should establish a munificent compensation system for military officers, to increase the career’s attraction,” said the article, which was written by Du Renhuai, a professor at the PLA Nanjing Institute of Politics.
The Communist Party’s third plenum in November included the concept of professionalism among officers as a major part of military reform.
In consideration of the job situation of the officers’ family members, the education of their children, the risks of the profession, and other elements, officers are entitled to be provided with relatively higher payment, which should be generally higher than that of civil servants, said the article.
Officers’ economic, political and social status should be at the top end of the society, it added.
The article also argued that officers should be given solid assurances on their benefits after their retirement from the military in terms of housing, healthcare, insurance, training and other aspects.