NAY PYI TAW, April 02, 2018 – The size of Myanmar’s public sector wage bill compares favorably with lower middle income countries, according to a report released today. The Myanmar Pay, Compensation and Human Resource Management Review was jointly conducted by the Government of Myanmar and the World Bank.
The review, supported by Denmark, Australia and UK-DFID under the Myanmar Multi Donor Trust Fund, presents a comprehensive picture of the Myanmar civil service pay, compensation and human resource management systems, and their strengths and challenges.
”Myanmar is in a good place on public sector wage bill and there are opportunities to ensure compensation levels remain attractive and sustainable,” said Shabih Ali Mohib, Program Leader at the World Bank. “However, it will be important to manage it prudently to ensure fiscal sustainability and to incentivize performance in the public sector.”
The report also recommends developing better forecasting systems that take into account the trade-offs of higher pay versus more staff and targeted compensation increases versus across the board adjustments; developing a centralized electronic payroll with possible linkages to financial management and human resource information systems; regular monitoring of the government ability to recruit, retain, and deploy the needed skillied personnel; and updating the rates for the operational expenses to enable staff to do their jobs.
“It is only the first step on the long journey of evidence-based reforms to manage the wage bill and performance of the Myanmar civil service,” says Daw Nwe Nwe Win, Director General, Budget Department of the Ministry of Planning and Finance, who attended today’s launch. “The Government of Myanmar and the World Bank will continue to work together during the implementation of these recommendations and on future research and analysis.”
“This is the most thorough review of Myanmar civil service so far”, said Peter Lysholt Hansen, Denmark’s Ambassador to Myanmar. “ I encourage the World Bank to play an active role supporting the Government of Myanmar to translate the recommendations into reality.”
The review was undertaken in 2015-2017 in response to the Government of Myanmar’s request for World Bank advice to inform compensation and human resource policies that reflect country-specific circumstances.
