Civil Service Bill Passed by the Committee:
After about a year and a half, the bill on the formation, operation, and conditions of service of the federal civil service have been passed by the State Management and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives. The bill was passed by a majority amid the dissatisfaction of departmental ministers.
Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration Hridayesh Tripathi has disagreed with some provisions of the bill. Similarly, some lawmakers of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) also disagree with some of the provisions. The bill was passed by the committee amid the disagreement of the ruling party MPs.
The formation of the federal civil service has been stopped due to the non-passage of the bill. After the country has gone to the federal structure, the states have not been able to decide their own laws as the federation has not made laws in time. Some states have not been able to implement the bill due to a lack of federal law.
During the passage of the bill on Monday, there is a clear division between the two former parties within the ruling party. Members close to the former Maoists have supported Chairman Shashi Shrestha when he tabled the bill. Members close to the Eastern UML have expressed dissatisfaction with some issues and even questioned the passage process. But amid dissatisfaction, the bill was passed through a majority process.
What new law has been added?
According to the report passed by the committee, the health service has now formally entered into the civil service law. There will be 11 service groups in the civil service. Earlier, health care was guided by a different act. Similarly, the committee has made an arrangement that there will be no service group in the Gazetted Special Category except for Foreign Affairs, Justice, and Nepal Audit.
However, if for any reason special responsibilities have to be given, the special category of staff of the foreign group can be assigned to other and other groups in the foreign service.
Similarly, the report stipulates that one of the categories will be adopted within five years of the implementation of the proposed law. For the first time, the bill has been amended to include the provision of performance agreement in the law. As per the proposal, an agreement will be reached with the Minister and Secretary, Secretary, and special category officers and departmental heads. There will be a performance agreement for all levels of staff.
As per the report of the bill, the system of internal competition in all categories of civil service has been removed. Only open, inter-level and promotion system is still in place. The percentage of inclusive vacancies has changed. Now 51 percent will be open and 49 percent inclusive. For the first time, the clusters of Khas Arya, Tharu, and Muslims have been differentiated. Now, in each inclusive group, only 50 percent of the competition will be between the same group. The remaining 50 percent will be competitive from all clusters. Similarly, contract service will not be available for any post other than the specialist.
Arrangement of compensation:
In the report, provision has been made for deduction of remuneration in case of loss to the service recipient due to untimely completion of any work to be performed by the civil servants or loss due to delay. There is a proposal to reduce the remuneration even if the government property is misused and the service recipients are treated in an abusive manner. Even if the work to be done in the body higher than oneself is not completed within the stipulated time, the proposal of salary cut is in the report. The report proposes to deduct the salary for ten days if such work is not done on time. Provisions for pensions and allowances remain the same.
Age limit 60 years:
The age limit in the civil service will now be 60 years. But it will be implemented in stages. The age limit of 58 years will be maintained for the employees who retire for 6 months after the implementation of the proposed arrangement. Then each year will be calculated. No employee will be allowed to be a candidate for promotion for three months from the date of suspension, without the date of receiving the advice, and for one year after the salary has been deducted. If the promotion is stopped, it is proposed to stop becoming a candidate for promotion even during that period. Provision has also been made in the report to keep the employees on the negative list.
Binding employees' union:
The committee's report has upheld the official trade union of civil servants. But the law itself has made it clear that union officials are accountable for their responsibilities. Provision has been made in the bill to fulfill the assigned responsibilities even during the tenure of the office-bearers and members of the working committee.
Nepali Congress has a different opinion:
The main opposition party Nepali Congress has a different opinion on the bill. The Nepali Congress has different views in favor of maintaining internal competition. Similarly, the Congress is of the view that the provision of an official trade union should be in accordance with the bill brought by the government.
Nepali Congress has also demanded that the age limit should not be imposed on permanent employees in an open and internal competition. The NC has demanded that the employees of the former Home and Small Industries Development Committee and the Remote Area Development Committee should also be retained in the civil service. According to the Civil Service Act 2049 BS, the Nepali Congress has a different opinion in favor of maintaining the service facilities provided to the employees.
