The public sector's wage frenzy
Treasury's Wage Division releases annual report surveying salaries of public officials, sector's seniors; notes while enforcement contributes to lesser guidelines' violations, irregularities were still found in 20% of public bodies
"This makes for fascinating reading," Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said Monday after Ilan Levin, director of wages in the Treasury, presented him with his division's 2008 public sector wages survey.
Steinitz reiterated his commitment to transparency and proper administration, and vowed, yet again, to fight corruption in the public sector – hence the full disclosure of the survey.
Levin, on his part, said that increased enforcement of wage guidelines has contributed to lesser infringements by public bodies.
Levin added that the majority of high salaries in the public sector are derivatives of various wage agreements, but nevertheless, the report found wage irregularities in 20% of the public bodies funded by the Treasury, including 136 out of the 684 local authorities and religious councils supported by the ministry, government and municipal bodies, public corporations, universities and colleges.
Past surveys, added Levin, showed wage irregularities in 62% of public bodies. Increased enforcement enabled the Wage Division to recoup NIS 340 million (approx. $91.8 million) and save an overall NIS 4 billion ($1.08 billion).
Most of the names on the list, however, cannot be disclosed publicly: The matter is a complex legal one, explained Levin, and the legal right to privacy trumps full disclosure in this case.
Considerable progress aside, said Steinitz, "We still have a long way to go."
Finance Minister Steinitz (M) at the presentation (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
Top of the charts
The survey found that senior officials in Israel's health maintenance organizations topped the 2008 wage ranks once again: Ranking No. 1 is Dr. Gidi Sahar, head of Beersheba's Soroka University Medical Center's Cardiothoracic Surgery Department. Soroka is run by Clalit Healthcare Services and Sahar's monthly salary currently stands at NIS 111,054 (roughly $30,000).
Coming in second is Prof. Gabriel Sandro, head of Soroka's Department of Vascular Surgery ($23,600), third is Meuhedet Health Care Director General Shmuel Mualem ($22,250), fourth is head of Clalit's Carmel Medical Center's Cardiothoracic Surgery Department ($21,270); and rounding up the top five is another of Clalit's cardiothoracic specialists, with a monthly paycheck of $20,660.
Prof. Yehuda Hiss, chief pathologist at the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine earns NIS 66,614 ($17,965).
Senior medical personnel often top the list, but still – and despite a new wage agreement which resulted is major cutbacks – Bank of Israel brass are well in the black.
The Central Bank's top five include the HR director with take-home pay of $16,203, a deputy department head ($15,900), two board members ($15,600 and $15,400) and rounding up the top five is the Bank of Israel Librarian ($10,260).
According to the Treasury, heading a university in Israel is also worthwhile: The president of the Israeli Technological Institute, the Technion, takes home NIS 66,000 (approx. $17,800), his colleague at Tel Aviv University follows with $17,005, the presidents of Ben Gurion and Bar Ilan universities are next with $15,920, the head of the Haifa University earns $15,647 and sounding up the list is the president of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, with $15,400.
Method to the madness?
The senior reporters in of IBA, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, are apparently unaffected by the bodies reported hardships: IBA Director General Moti Shklar's paycheck sports NIS 35,000 (roughly $9,460), Israel Radio head earns $8,100 and the manager of Radio 1 takes home about $10,270 – more than his boss.
The bottom line of IBA's senior commentator on Arab affairs Oded Granot's paycheck is NIS 47,000 ($12,700), contributing editors-writers make about $12,400, about a dozen producers earn $9,200 each, military commentator Yoav Limor makes about $7,837 and the editor of IBA's central news edition, Mabat, takes home $7,565.
Israel Electric Corp, which is often criticized for its high salaries, was also included in the report: IEC's Strategic VP and heads of the south and technical operations divisions make NIS 60,000 ($16,200) each – more than their boss, ($12,670), the chairman of IEC board ($12,420) and IEC spokesman ($12,150).
Israel Electric Corp spokesman is the highest paid spokesman in the entire public sector.
Other figures disclosed by the report were those of government officials: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earns NIS 42,000 (approx. $11,333), government minister make NIS 37,000 ($9,980), Knesset members' take-home is NIS 34,000 ($9,170) and the Knesset speaker's pay slip notes NIS 44,000 ($11,860).
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi's salary stands at NIS 68,060 (approx. $18,365) and Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen's salary is NIS 68,329 (18,420).
Meital Yasur-Beit Or and Gad Lior contributed to this report
