Filenews 14 January 2022 - by Eleftheria Paizanos
Almost all civil servants will no longer be evaluated "as excellent", as is done every year, as after yesterday's approval of the legislative package for the reform of the Public Service, by the Plenum of the Parliament (47 in favour and 3 against - EDEK), the evaluation system and the crediting of points are changed, with the aim of choosing objectively and on merit the appropriate candidates.
In addition, seniority is abolished as an important qualification for promotion, while the evaluation criteria relating to skills and competences will be taken into account. Of particular importance will be given to the experience, the academic qualifications, the performance of the employees, based on the annual service reports and the recommendations of the heads of the departments, the results of an examination centre and the oral examination by the Public Service Commission (EDY). At the same time, a new category of "interdepartmental promotion" posts is created, which includes the scientific/professional positions of the public service, on the A13(ii) scale of the government payroll and aims at enhancing the mobility of employees between ministries and services.
These posts may be claimed by civil servants serving anywhere in the public service, in a position at the next lower salary level, provided that they possess the academic/professional qualifications and relevant experience required by the relevant service plans.
At the same time, the NSS will be responsible for monitoring the proper implementation of the system for evaluating the performance of civil servants. It is worth noting that the employees of the Audit Office (the government accepted the exception), the Parliament and the diplomatic service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were excluded from the interdepartmental promotion with the intervention of the majority of the Parliament.
Red on last minute changes
Yesterday, none of the oral amendments tabled at the end were adopted. The amendment of EDEK for the exclusion of the political personnel of the Ministry of Defence from the interdepartmental promotion, the amendment of the Ecologists, which abolished the interdepartmental and introduced rules for recording the oral interview, as well as the amendment of the DIPA to change the points for the A7 positions, were rejected. Specifically, he suggested that the weight for additional qualifications should be 15% and the experience should be 25%.
However, the written amendment of THE DIPA was approved, according to which the anonymous evaluation of the heads of departments by their subordinates, including those employed of indefinite duration, will be made mandatory.
Better late than never
The reform of the public service comes nine years late, at least! In 2013, the government committed itself to reform in the troika, which did not materialise. This was followed in 2016 by the rejection by the House of the legislative package tabled by the government and in 2019 the bills were re-tabled in Parliament, which after passing through a thousand myriad waves were approved yesterday.
It is worth noting that the reform of the public service is included in the prerequisites of the Recovery Fund. With the approval of the bills, Cyprus is taking a step closer to the second tranche of €85m from Brussels next month. Beforehand, the remaining milestones to which the Republic has committed itself to the Commission will have to be implemented. As for the other objectives that the government has to implement, these have been achieved and the legislative regulations, which must be approved by parliament as soon as possible, are lacking.
There is still much to be done, the opposition suggests
Despite the almost unanimous adoption of the bills, there is still a long way to go to completely modernise the public service, which is also recognised by the government itself. AKEL MP Christos Christofides said the bills are not a reform of the public service, but legislation related to evaluation and interdepartmental promotions. As he said, these do not eliminate bureaucracy, do not boost productivity and promote e-government.
DIKO MP - and Deputy President - Christiana Erotokritou noted that the reform does not stop here, calling on the government to fill the gap of nine years of inaction. As he said, other countries move at the speed of light and invest in modern methods, while in Cyprus the methods of 1950 are applied "with the seal and the parchment paper".
ELAM MP Sotiris Ioannou said that the bills will not hit the ruffle, but only by combating partisanship.
EDEK President Marinos Sizopoulos argued that the dependence of civil servants on their superiors will be strengthened, also stressing that bureaucracy is increasing.
Ecologists' MP Stavros Papadouris said they are not 100% satisfied with the content of the legislation.
A reply to the opposition parties was given by DISY MP Harris Georgiades, who expressed his satisfaction for the majority formed in favour of the bills, in order to take a very important step of modernization towards meritocracy and efficiency in the Public Service. Responding to criticism that the bills do not solve all problems, he stressed that it is taking a step forward. The DISY MP agreed with the position that the reform effort is continuous, adding that it is up to the Parliament to implement the reform of local government and justice soon. Concluding, he said that with the implementation of the reform program the state will be better for the citizens.
