Public Sector Pay Scales in PNG: Are Academics Underpaid?

Abstract

PNG’s public universities face difficulties in retaining academic staff, many of whom join government departments, statutory authorities, public enterprises, or the private sector for better paid jobs. We compare university pay in PNG with public service, statutory authority, and state-owned enterprise pay. We include allowances in our comparison, among them, importantly, the imputed value of university-provided housing. University salaries are uncompetitive for professors, and uncompetitive for all positions relative to the salaries offered by state-owned enterprises and probably some by statutory authorities. They are relatively competitive for positions below that of professor relative to the salaries offered by the public service. The PNG government will need to raise salaries to improve the competitive position of universities in those disciplines that are facing shortfalls. However, given that universities are likely to remain at a competitive disadvantage for some time to come, improving job satisfaction for academics and expanding the supply of quality candidates for areas where there are shortages will also be important.