A Shanghai-based newspaper reported on Tuesday that the municipal government of Suzhou in southeast China’s Jiangsu Province, has withdrawn a controversial scheme to encourage civil servants to use their entitlement to annual leave by offering them daily subsidies.

Suzhou’s authorities issued a circular last August saying civil servants who had been in post for over five years could receive a daily subsidy of 150 yuan (US$18) when on leave.

Those who did not take their leave would not be entitled to the subsidy, and would disqualify themselves for consideration as “model workers” at the end of each year.

Other local governments have publicized similar schemes to encourage their employees to take all their leave in an attempt to boost health and productivity, but though this has been welcomed by many civil servants it has been criticized by others.

Xinmin Evening News quoted Suzhou municipal government sources as saying that implementation of the circular had recently been stopped and new rules yet to be issued.

Workers who were not civil servants, civil servants who had worked for less than five years and even some retired civil servants had voiced their opposition to the scheme, saying that it was unfair to everyone else.

The extra burden on local finances had also been focused on, with some saying the plan spent additional public money for civil servants to contribute less to society.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Tingting, July 8, 2005)