Miscellaneous
Government to mull staff fears
Amid strong protests by government staff against the Civil Service Adjustment Ordinance, the government is considering more space for civil servants adjusted to the provincial and local levels to climb the career ladder.Prithvi Man Shrestha
Amid strong protests by government staff against the Civil Service Adjustment Ordinance, the government is considering more space for civil servants adjusted to the provincial and local levels to climb the career ladder.
According to the Civil Service Adjustment Ordinance-2018, civil servants, once adjusted to the provincial and local administrations, can come back to the federal civil service only through competition with civil servants from the federal services.
This, according to civil servants, could block the carrier path of many employees as they would be confined to a particular geography.
“It’s a genuine concern of civil servants and there has been discussion on widening the scope for them to come to the federal civil service,” said Roop Narayan Bhattarai, joint-secretary at the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration.
Bhattarai, who coordinates the complaint management committee on staff adjustment, said they are discussing the possibility of providing an option for transfer to the federal service through internal competition and opportunity to return to the federal service after serving for a certain period at the provincial or local level.
He clarified, however, that there had been no agreement on the step to be taken as the alternatives were being explored.
Civil servants, dissatisfied with the provisions in the ordinance, are making their grievances public. According to Bhattarai, nearly 100 complaints were registered at the committee on Tuesday alone.
The Official Trade Union of Civil Servants has also been involved in discussion with the bureaucratic leadership on the matter. On Wednesday, trade union officials discussed the complaints of employees with Chief Secretary Lok Darshan Regmi.
Punya Prasad Dhakal, president of the Official Trade Union, said the government must address the concerns of the employees about their career growth.
“The employees are seeking guarantee of an opportunity to be employed at the federal civil service in future. They should not be forced to stay where they have been adjusted forever,” he said.
Provincial governments fear that the provision could discourage civil servants from coming to their service. Province 1 Minister for Economic Affairs Indra Angbo said the ordinance allowed only those who are under the federal service to become a secretary and the chief secretary, adding that it would discourage civil servants from going to the provinces and the local administration.