Federal Civil Service Bill registered in Parliament
KATHMANDU, March 5: After a long tug-of-war, the government has registered the Bill, 2080 in the Parliament to provide for the formation, operation and conditions of service of the Federal Civil Service.
The bill proposes increasing the retirement age of employees from 58 to 60 years, while the age limit for entering government service has been proposed to be kept at 32 years for men and 37 years for women. In the current Civil Service Act, the age limit for entering government service is 37 years for women and 35 years for men. Provisions for employees to open trade unions and party-based associations and organizations have been retained in the draft.
The bill has arrangements for civil servants to get compulsory retirement after completing 60 years. In the civil service act which is in force now, the retirement age limit of the employees has been set at 58. Earlier, there was controversy and discussion whether to keep the retirement age of employees at 58 years or 60 years.
The Public Service Commission has been recommending the government every year to increase the retirement age of employees from 58 to 60 years.
Male-female ratio at birth widening
After the endorsement of the new bill, the retirement age of employees will be 60 from next fiscal year.
The bill also has provision that an employee can be removed from service or dismissed if the employee engages in polygamy or becomes affiliated with a political party, a fraternal organization of a political party, a popular organization of a political party, or a professional organization linked to a political party.
Likewise, a civil servant can be removed for service for being absent from his office for 30 consecutive days without approval of leave. Similarly, a civil servant who has gone on foreign study, training or tour, can be removed from service if he/she does not appear at the office within seven days after completing such study, training or tour.
Likewise, provisions have been made in the bill to remove an individual from government service if convicted by any court of corruption, mishandling of government or public documents, crimes against the national interest, drug dealing, money laundering, antiquities sale, human trafficking, kidnapping, taking hostage, coercion, polygamy or other criminal charges or if proven that s/he has taken permission or applied for permanent residents of other countries.
Employee leave
Under this new act, government employees are entitled to a diverse array of leave options. It includes holidays, festivals, sick days, maternity leave, funeral leave, marriage leave, tourism leave, study leave, and extraordinary leave.
The bill clarifies that leave for civil servants will be considered a privilege, not an inherent right. Additionally, it stipulates that if a civil servant's spouse takes up employment at a Nepali embassy or any foreign mission, the civil servant will be granted unpaid leave as per regulations.
The proposed bill seeks to introduce the Nepal Information Technology Service among its 11 designated services. These services include the Nepal Economic Planning and Statistics Service, Nepal Engineering Service, Nepal Agriculture Service, Nepal Justice Service, Nepal Foreign Service, Nepal Administration Service, Nepal Audit Service, Nepal Forest Service, Nepal Miscellaneous Service, Nepal Education Service, and the newly proposed Nepal Information Technology Service.
The bill outlines that, following its implementation, the Chief Administrative Officer of the local level and the Provincial Secretary of the provincial government will serve as employees of the federal civil service for a period of 10 years.
