Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Civil Service Reforms


Yesterday the Government and the Civil Service Commission jointly announced reforms in the civil service ranging from salary restructuring to changes in working hours. As with any major change the reactions from the people have been mixed. Here is a sampling of some comments I heard.

Abolishing Professional Allowance: This has been a very divisive issue. Those without university degrees widely welcomed the move, citing equal pay for equal work. However others, particularly those with degrees, say the move will discourage graduates from joining government service.

Working Hours: Few people believe the new working hours will benefit either employees or the government. For employees the need to remain in the office till 4 pm will preclude them from doing any part time work in the afternoon. Given the traffic conditions in Male employees will have a tough time returning in one hour after taking lunch at home.

From the government point of view the break in service from 12 Noon to 1 pm would cause inconvenience to the public. Further, employees returning late from lunch would cause further delays to waiting customers.

Financial burden: Employees would definitely welcome the increased pay packet. But people who think beyond self interest have some doubts whether the economic burden can be borne by the ailing economy.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

A pay rise for civil servants is an announcement to be made by the civil service commission (if need be) at a press conference chaired by the Civil Service Supremo Dr latheef.Why it was politicized at a conference attended by all the ministers and chaired by the President beats me.And why was Dr Latheef thanking the President for the pay hike?.Shouldn't he be thanking the Majlis for passing the budget proposals sent by the Civil Service Commission?
And any way what matters is how much money you take home on pay day. Whether you call it Mathee Thauleem allowance, housing allowance,technical allowance or overtime is immaterial.I bet minus overtime and a lot of previous allowances the take home packet may not vary by much. The whole thing was a farce.It was a big spin. Another great performance by the greatest spin masters of our time.

Anonymous said...

Doc Latheef is married tothe daughter of Maumoon's best buddy.After 10 years as Education Minister his 'vai' went off. For some reason Maumoon and he drifted apart.Some say it was Hon Hameed and his friends who drove a wedge between Maumoon and Latheef. Earlier every weekend Maumoon and him played badminton etc at such places as Aarah.But still Maumoon saved Latheef from the high profile corruption case in which he was involved along with Mujuthaba(current Junior Home Minister) and Abdul Sattar Hassan (former head of FMC).He was sent to UN as ambassador a demotion from his Cabinet post. Latheef never forgave Maumoon for this demotion.He still hopes to get an important post from Anni. His current position has also to be reconfirmed by Anni and new Majlis. This is the reason why he is bending backwards to please Anni.Survival and working for it are qualities programmed into all species.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous, what ever is coming now tops what ever our dictator did for us in 30 years of his posh rule.... Even if hey say shit smell good, we will take it. We need time to unwind this awful bundle of corrupt deeds our pathetic and lame dictator has put us through. and thnk you!!! if it means we need to work more hours we will, we need to make a change and make our lives better than this.

Anonymous said...

Anni will not reappoint Doc Latheef to the civil service commission. Latheef may have fallen out with Maumoon but that is not a good reason why Anni should embrace a corrupt guy like Latheef.There are enough capable people in MDP.

Anonymous said...

The changes the individual offices are bringing seem to be linked to a particular office politics..look at health ministry and the changes they are brining..they are keeping the people they wish..and letting go of others..hee hee..it's like a kids game where they get to choose the favorites??
And I wonder why Dr sheena is the permanant secty of health ministry..look at her past..she didnt work as medical doctor at thalassemia because of Kutti..and later got a funding for a masters course because of her links to a "man" in the ministry..who send her to a conferance that later changed into a masters..hee hee..what a laugh..is this the best person we can choose??