Since the right to take industrial action was taken away from the civil service, this important workforce has been bashed around. Every time they ask for a salary increase, we are told that they are inefficient and do not deserve an increase.

This has been going on for the last 30 years. In the meantime, people such as members of parliament have had their wages increased several times.

Once again, we hear voices saying that civil servants do not deserve an increase because their productivity is low. But others tell us that their productivity is low because their pay is low and they have turned to other means - legal and illegal - to make money.

We have had a steady GDP growth of 5% a year since independence. This must be reflected by not only the salaries of civil servants but all by the wages of all workers in this country. Presently we are paying 1970 salaries in 2006.

To play the argument that civil servants do not deserve an increase may be fashionable now. But if we do not address it we will continue to attract low productivity workers which will mean that by 2020, we will be making the same complaint against the civil service.

So now is the time to change things around to try to attract better quality workers into the civil service by giving appropriate salary. I cannot recall who said this but 'if you pay peanuts, you will get monkeys'.