As the federal government prepares a law regarding standards for the Provincial Civil Service Act and Local Service Act, it is also setting the criteria for the recruitment and retirement age of staff to be recruited by provincial and local governments.

As per Article 57 (6) of the constitution, the State Assembly, Village Assembly or Municipal Assembly should not make laws that are inconsistent with federal laws and any laws made that are will be invalid. That is why the Ministry of Federal Affairs and the General Administration drafted a law on standards, which the provincial and the local governments should follow to prepare the Provincial Civil Service Act and the Local Service Act.

Officials at the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration said that a draft of the law has been forwarded to the Law Ministry and Finance Ministry for their feedback early this week.

As per the proposed law, any individual applying for non-gazetted level jobs must be above 18 years old, while individuals applying for gazetted-level jobs should be at least 21 years old. The retirement age has been proposed at 58 years. These recruitment and retirement ages are compatible with the recruitment and retirement ages proposed in the bill on the Federal Civil Service Act registered at Parliamentary Secretariat. “We want to ensure that civil services in all three layers of the government maintain uniformity on fundamental issues,” said Suresh Adhikari, spokesperson at the Federal Affairs Ministry.

The proposed law states that provincial and local governments should recruit civil servants based on the recommendation of the Provincial Public Service Commission. The proposed law has also barred making temporary recruitment in permanent posts for more than six months, according to Adhikari.

Regarding the transfer of staffs of provincial and local governments, it has been proposed in the draft law that there should be a provision where a provincial staff can be transferred from one office to another under the provincial government. “Likewise, the local government staff can be transferred from one local government to another within a province,” Adhikari said.

The proposed law has also opened the door for the staff of the provincial and local governments to move to the federal civil service through promotion, which is in line with the provision of the Bill on Federal Civil Service Act.

Those who have been adjusted to provincial and local government offices through the staff adjustment process can move back to the federal civil service through both free competition and internal competition. “But fresh recruits at the subnational governments can go to federal civil service only through open competition,” said Adhikari.

Of the total 51,000 civil servants adjusted in three layers of the government so far, 34,000 have been adjusted under the federal government, 9,000 under provincial governments and 7,000 under local units. A total of 77,034 government staff have applied to be adjusted at the three layers of the government, according to the Federal Affairs Ministry.

Those recruited at the provincial and local governments will have a right to get pension.  The bill on the Federal Civil Service Act has guaranteed pension to those who were adjusted at provincial and local levels as per the Federal Civil Service Act.

The staff recruited by the provincial and local governments will get pension through the pension fund as per the contributory pension mechanism, according to spokesperson Adhikari.

The bill on the Federal Civil Service Act has proposed the formation of a single trade union. But the proposed law on the standard of provincial and local government services has not talked about the formation of trade union. “As it is not related to service, condition and facilities of the staffs, we have not incorporated this issue on the proposed law,” said Adhikari. “Concerned sub-national governments can make necessary arrangements when they introduce their own laws.”