The Civil Service will cut pay, the Public Service Division announced earlier today.

In view of the economic slowdown, the salaries of ministers and senior officials will be cut by 11-19 per cent next year. This is because components of their salary are linked to Singapore's economic growth.

The drop will bring their salaries below the levels in April 2007.

Specifically, in 2009, there will be a 19 per cent fall in the annual salary of the President (to $3.14 million) and the Prime Minister (to $3.04 million).

The Ministerial Grade (MR4) salary will fall by 18% to $1.57 million, and salaries at the entry Superscale grade (SR9) will fall by 12% to $353,000.

In addition, the allowance for Members of Parliament will fall by 16 per cent to $190,000.

The year-end Annual Variable Component (AVC) will be reduced to 0.5 month, from one month last year. There will be no special Growth Bonus this year, unlike in 2007 when a special Growth Bonus of 0.5 month was paid.

Civil servants will still receive the 13th month payment, or Annual Wage Supplement of 1 month.

As such, the total AVC and 13th month payment for civil servants in 2008 is two months plus $100 to $300. This is one month less than the total paid out in 2007 - three months plus $220 including the Growth Bonus.

Mr Teo Chee Hean, Minister for Defence and Minister in charge of the Civil Service said: "Public sector salaries follow the market up and down. The mechanism we introduced last year to link a significant proportion of the salary of senior civil servants to the performance of the economy is working as intended. This mechanism allows salaries to respond more rapidly to market conditions."

The Prime Minister has donated and will continue to donate all increases in his own salary over the level before the April 2007 revisions to good causes for five years.