KATHMANDU, Oct 30: Reports that the government is preparing to introduce an ordinance on the civil service have created fear and uncertainty among government employees. Those who have completed 55 years of age or 30 years of service are particularly worried about the possible changes.
A few days ago, Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration Pratibha Rawal told a group of journalists that the Federal Civil Service Act would be introduced through the regular parliamentary process, not through an ordinance.
A senior ministry official said the minister was opposed to introducing the Civil Service Act through an ordinance and wanted the bill to go through Parliament. However, the Prime Minister's Secretariat is preparing to introduce an ordinance through an amendment to the Nepal Laws Amendment Act, covering only three provisions included in the Civil Service Bill.
A senior official at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers said the entire Civil Service Bill would be passed by Parliament as an Act, rather than through an ordinance. However, the government is likely to introduce an ordinance through amendments to existing laws to implement several proposed provisions. These include compulsory retirement for employees aged 55 or those who have completed 30 years of service, lateral entry into the positions of secretary and joint secretary, and shorter tenures for the chief secretary and secretaries. Preparations are underway, the official added.
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Under the Civil Service Act 1992, the tenure of a secretary is five years and that of the chief secretary is three years. The government is considering reducing these tenures to three years and two years, respectively, through the proposed ordinance. If implemented, the change would create opportunities for senior joint secretaries currently in service to be promoted to secretary.
If the government introduces the 55-year age and 30-year service provisions through an ordinance, the incumbent chief secretary and most secretaries would face compulsory retirement. Nearly half of the joint secretaries would also be affected. Managing the resulting vacancies would pose a major challenge for the government, an official said.
The ordinance could immediately force around 13,000 civil servants into retirement. Fearing its introduction, employees have begun submitting resignations in large numbers. Some have also resigned for reasons unrelated to the proposed changes.
According to Sudan Shrestha, information officer at the Department of National Personnel Records, 464 civil servants have resigned since July 17. Among them are four secretaries and 33 employees equivalent to joint secretaries. The list also includes 72 undersecretaries and 58 section officers.
The department said employees at the ranks of joint secretary, undersecretary, section officer and non-gazetted first class officer have also resigned.
The draft Civil Service Act prepared by the government proposes limiting pensionable service to 30 years. Employees who have served longer are reportedly resigning to avoid losing pension benefits.
Under the proposed provision, employees who complete more than 30 years of service would have their pensions calculated based on only 30 years. Those who resign before the ordinance takes effect, after completing more than 30 years of service, would remain eligible for pension benefits calculated according to their actual years of service.
An employee said the difference in monthly pension payments could range from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000.
Sources said many employees who have resigned have already begun processing their pension claims, leading to increased pressure on the department handling pension-related work.
