KATHMANDU, March 27: The House panel has proposed two additional types of leave benefits to civil servants, in addition to the leave they currently receive.
The sub-committee, formed to reach an agreement on the Federal Civil Service Formation, Operation, and Terms of Service Bill 2081, which is under discussion in the Parliamentary State Affairs Committee, has decided on the leave provisions for civil servants. Buddhiman Tamang, a member of the sub-committee, shared this information. The State Affairs Committee formed the sub-committee under the chairmanship of Dilendra Prasad Badu.
Tamang stated that civil servants will receive additional leave benefits, including internal tourism leave and marriage leave, alongside the leave they currently receive. He explained that the internal tourism leave will last one week, and the proposal will allow employees to take marriage leave twice in their lifetime. "Under the two marriage leave provisions, employees can use one leave for themselves and the other for their son or daughter. Alternatively, employees who are already married can take marriage leave twice, once for their son and once for their daughter," said sub-committee member Tamang.
Another MP stated that while lawmakers have decided on the internal tourism leave, they have yet to finalize the duration of the marriage leave. The internal tourism leave will last for one week. The MP explained that the bill proposes adding several types of leave to the list, including special leave, festival leave, home leave, sick leave, maternity leave, maternity care leave, funeral leave, study leave, and extraordinary leave.
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Under the Civil Service Act and Civil Service Regulations, government employees currently receive 12 days of sick leave, 30 days of home leave, and 12 days of festival leave annually. With all the leave days combined and Saturdays off, government employees in Nepal are excused from office for 140 days per year. Additionally, they are entitled to 3 years of study leave and 3 years of extraordinary leave during their employment period. Female employees receive 98 days of maternity leave.
When a wife gives birth, the husband is entitled to 15 days of paternity leave. Additionally, employees receive 52 Saturdays off and about 15 public holidays each year. An employee from the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration stated that half of the civil servants accumulate their leave, enabling them to take 180 days of leave upon retirement.
Proposal to shorten chief secretary, secretary tenure
The proposal prepared by the sub-committee suggests shortening the tenure of the Chief Secretary and Secretary. The member mentioned that there is almost an agreement to set the tenure of the Chief Secretary for two years and the tenure of the Secretary for four years. Currently, the tenure of the Chief Secretary is set at three years and the tenure of the Secretary at five years.
The sub-committee has proposed creating the position of additional secretary between under secretary and secretary at the 13th level. Members stated that they have almost reached an agreement to place secretaries at the 14th level, a chief secretary at the 15th level, and additional secretaries at the 13th level. They are near consensus on placing under secretaries at the 9th and 10th levels and Deputy Secretaries at the 11th and 12th levels.
Members mentioned that they have not yet agreed on whether to set a tenure for the additional secretary’s position. However, they confirmed that the sub-committee has unanimously agreed to reduce the number of secretarial positions. Offices like the Office of the Nepal Trust, the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat, the Public Procurement Monitoring Office, and the National Vigilance Center will no longer have the position of a secretary.
Similarly, ministries that currently have two secretarial positions will now have one secretary’s and one additional secretary’s position. The employee serving as the secretary in provincial ministries will hold the position of additional secretary. Likewise, the director generals of departments will hold additional secretary-level positions.
According to the members, the sub-committee will likely submit its report to the State Affairs Committee on Thursday. The sub-committee met on Wednesday and received instructions to submit the report by March 31.