China’s civil servants ordered to tighten their belts

Local governments across the country are cutting back on a range of perks and bonuses as part of a drive to reduce costs

Some public employees have seen their monthly pay packets fall by up to a third

Reading Time:5 minutes

Published: 1:00pm, 12 Jan 2022Updated: 3:12pm, 12 Jan 2022

For Timothy Tian, like millions of other Chinese civil servants, the forthcoming Lunar New Year promises to be an austere one as government workers face the toughest round of belt-tightening in a decade.

Even if Covid restrictions allow it, the city government worker from the eastern province of Zhejiang cannot afford to travel after his monthly pay packet was cut by about 2,000 yuan (US$315) to 5,000 yuan.

“The total pay cut is about 25 per cent and I am not expecting much of a year-end bonus given the circumstances,” Tian said, referring to repeated warnings from China’s top officials that further belt-tightening is needed for civil servants.

Like most civil servants, Tian’s basic monthly salary is topped up by a number of perks and performance bonuses, which are now being cut back.

While the cuts have prompted a flurry of complaints on social media by civil servants who are struggling to make ends meet, Premier Li Keqiang last week said a round of belt-tightening was necessary to boost the flagging economy.

Noting that China had lowered taxes and fees by as much as 8.6 trillion yuan since 2016, Li said the process must continue so the government could give more benefits to businesses and energise the economy.

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