KATHMANDU, April 22: The draft of the Civil Service Act, which is soon to be passed by the Parliament's State Affairs Committee, has proposed that civil servants will no longer be allowed to receive double benefits. If this law is passed, civil servants who are currently receiving pension benefits will not be eligible to receive old-age allowance. If they wish to receive the old-age allowance, they must forgo the pension benefits. However, pension benefits are generally higher than the old-age allowance, so most civil servants are expected to choose the pension option over the allowance after their retirement.
The draft also includes a provision that employees who return to work after retirement in a benefit-earning position will not be eligible to continue receiving their pension. While working in such positions, employees will only be entitled to salary and benefits from that organization, not their pension. This rule was included after most parliamentarians in the committee agreed that civil servants should not be allowed to receive both benefits simultaneously. This provision is expected to reduce the financial burden on the state.
Currently, a significant amount of public funds are being spent on social security, including pension benefits for retired employees. In some cases, employees are receiving both a pension and salary if they return to work after retirement, which has been identified as a financial concern. Hridaya Ram Thani, a member of the State Affairs Committee, mentioned that this trend of receiving both pension and salary has been a concern, and the proposed law aims to prevent this by ensuring that retired employees choose only one form of benefit.
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Right to form multiple trade unions
The draft maintains the current law that allows employees to form multiple trade unions, a provision included in the Federal Civil Service Act of 2008. There has been ongoing debate regarding whether to allow the formation of multiple trade unions. Representatives of employee organizations have been protesting to maintain the right to form multiple trade unions, warning that they will engage in strong protests if this right is taken away.
According to the proposed law, while employees will be able to form multiple trade unions, the law will also provide for the establishment of an official trade union, as is already allowed under the current law.
Cooling period for retired employees
There was consensus among committee members that retired secretaries and under-secretaries must wait a certain period before rejoining any public sector positions or government-benefit positions. However, there has been disagreement regarding the length of the cooling period, with some advocating for one year and others suggesting two years. According to the draft law, a retired person from a first-class or special civil service position will not be allowed to work in such positions within the government for two years without prior approval.
Some higher-ranking officials, such as secretaries and under-secretaries, are lobbying against this cooling period, seeking to eliminate it entirely or reduce it to just one year.
Provincial secretaries and chief administrative officers
The draft also proposes that provincial secretaries and chief administrative officers will remain under the provincial government for the next ten years. This is in line with the current system, but there has been ongoing debate regarding whether these officials should remain under the provincial or federal government.
