Government workers lose 'iron bowl'

Salaries to be based on merit, seven professional ranks

GUANGZHOU: The salaries and other welfare benefits of about 70 percent of the civil servants in the southern city of Shenzhen will not be linked to their official rankings after a new appointment system is introduced this year.

But their salaries will be linked to their professional ranks, according to Wang Min, director of Shenzhen's Department of Human Resources and Social Security.