KATHMANDU, May 26: The State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of the House of Representatives passed the draft of the Federal Civil Service Act (FCSA) with a proposal to halt new recruitment for the position of Nayab Subba (non-gazetted second class officer) through the Public Service Commission.
The draft authorizes the commission to announce vacancies only for Kharidar (non-gazetted second class and level 4), Section Officer (gazetted third class and levels 6, 7, and 8), and Undersecretary (gazetted second class and levels 9 and 10).
Committee Chairperson Ramhari Khatiwada said the draft explicitly stops new recruitment for the Nayab Subba post. "The draft allows promotion from Kharidar to Nayab Subba, but it does not provide for fresh recruitment at the Nayab Subba level," he said.
The draft of the FCSA introduces a 15-tier structure for the civil service. It designates the Chief Secretary as the highest-ranking official at the 15th tier and assigns the Secretary to the 14th tier. It places Joint Secretaries (Gazetted First Class) at the 11th and 12th tiers.
The draft also proposes creating the position of Additional Secretary at the 13th tier but does not define a fixed term for it. It sets the Chief Secretary's term at two years and the Secretary's term at four years.
Under the current FCSA, the Chief Secretary serves for three years, and Secretaries serve for five years. The act also places non-categorized staff-such as office assistants and drivers-at the first, second, and third tiers.
"Cooling-Off Period Provision Will Stay"
Top government officials, including the chief secretary and several secretaries, have stepped up lobbying efforts to remove the cooling-off period provision from the draft of the FCSA. However, Ramhari Khatiwada, chairperson of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee, has made it clear that the provision will remain.
Khatiwada emphasized that the committee will not alter the fundamental provisions in the draft it has already endorsed. "We passed the draft with the objective of crafting a law based on broad consensus," he said. "We firmly believe that the government, the speaker, and the chairperson of the National Assembly will respect the authority of the parliamentary committee."
He emphasized that the cooling-off period provision applies not only in Nepal but also in countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, and India. He confirmed that the committee will soon table the approved draft in Parliament. Meanwhile, several Secretaries are actively lobbying to remove the cooling-off period provision before it reaches the Parliament floor.
Despite the ongoing debate over whether civil servants should form politically affiliated organizations under the guise of trade unions, the draft continues to uphold this provision. The current Civil Service Act allows civil servants to establish trade unions aligned with political parties-a provision introduced through an amendment in 2007 (2064 BS).
Committee members and public forums debated whether to allow employees to form trade unions affiliated with political parties under the Federal Civil Service Law. They briefly removed the provision allowing party-affiliated trade unions from the draft. However, representatives of employee organizations warned that they would launch a strong movement if the government curtailed this right, so lawmakers retained the provision.
The proposed law allows employees to form party-affiliated trade unions alongside one official trade union. The current law also allows employees to have one official trade union.