The Wage and Salary Commission (WASCOM) was established on 18 January 1995 to undertake a fundamental review of public service pay. Before the establishment of the Wage and Salary Commission, the public service pay structure was seen to be overly complex and opaque. It was based on occupational differentiations, characterized by different allowances for each occupational group. Generally, the pay structure was also too low and therefore caused discontent to most public servants