THE Public Service Division (PSD) will be making an announcement soon about year-end bonuses and salaries for civil servants, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Friday.

'The principles underpinning civil service pay as well as pay of political leaders ... are well known and you can just wait for the announcement before long on that,' he told reporters at the end of the press conference.

The panel of ministers was asked if senior officers and leaders in the public sector would lead by example and take pay cuts in difficult times.

'We're not here to grandstand,' Mr Tharman said, before adding that the PSD, which oversees civil service matters, would make an announcement soon.

The response from labour chief Lim Swee Say, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, indicated that a wage cut may be in the offing:

'From the labour movement, I think we will not be surprised (for) the public sector see a wage cut because with the GDP declining, that must factor into the flexible component of the wages.'

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.