Filenews 23 March 2023 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
The new Government is called upon by legislation to rapidly implement the (partial) reform of the Public Service, which the previous one had "passed" through Parliament, in the midst of a thousand myriad waves due to the many reactions that have existed, but it seems that there are problems that are likely to cause serious delays.
As Phileleftheros is informed, a few months before the full implementation of the reform, the Branch of Directors of Government Departments and Services asks the Government to amend the legislation and to grant an extension of one year, in order to discuss and address the difficulties that arise in relation to the reform of the Civil Service, in connection with the Service Plans for interdepartmental promotion positions, as well as for the positions of first appointment and promotion.
The general reform of the Public Service, which will be implemented on January 1, 2024, also provides for the adoption of the new evaluation and promotion system, which aims to select the most appropriate, based on the principle of objectivity. Government, Parliament, parties and PASYDY bet on the new system, with the hope that through it the evaluation of all employees as excellent will be permanently abandoned and that the best will be promoted on merit, on the basis of their experience, productivity and academic qualifications.
There are many obstacles
However, the directors of the government departments argue that there are many obstacles and difficulties for the implementation of the reform of the Civil Service, so they sent a letter to the director general of the Ministry of Finance, George Pantelis. They ask for a meeting to be arranged in order to develop their positions and concerns on the substantial reform of the State.
At the same time, the directors consider that there will be difficulties in implementing the reform and the concerns focus mainly on the positions of the interdepartmental promotion of the A13(ii) scale of the government payroll, which aim to enhance the mobility of employees between ministries and services.
As the directors of the State point out in their letter to the competent ministry, "the concerns are mainly exacerbated by the fact that, at the last level of promotion of A13(ii) public servant positions, the positions will be claimed and possibly occupied by colleagues who will lack the expertise and in particular the specialization and familiarity with the subject and the legislative and regulatory framework that governs the operation of each department/service.
They also indicate that interdepartmental promotions are the subject of strong reactions from many workers in affected sectors. "There are even concerns about whether it might be more beneficial for the exams to be conducted among smaller groups of positions, for example at the ministry level, since, based on what is being promoted, candidates of some categories of positions will hold a wide range of different degrees, thus making it difficult to conduct a common, fair and objective examination," they add in the letter.
The weight of the master's degree
The directors of the departments and services of the state apparatus state that they have also received reactions for the A14 and above positions, for which the master's degree is considered a necessary qualification, stressing that normally this qualification should be just an advantage.
"This position is justified because in any case the possession by some candidates of a master's degree will be counted and taken into account in their general classification when measuring their qualifications," the directors emphasize. From time to time, various departments had forwarded requests to the MIC and the Parliament to be exempted from interdepartmental promotions. By law, employees of the Parliament, the Audit Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been excluded from interdepartmental promotion.
Consultation requested by PASYDY on some aspects
PASYDY is in favour of the reform and modernization of the Public Service. PASYDY Secretary General Stratis Matheou told "F" that he is in favour of meritocracy and transparency. "We want the best to be promoted and certainly not by following the date of birth. That is why from the first moment I took over as Secretary General of PASYDY, I was in favour of changing the evaluation system", he stressed. At the same time, the Secretary General of PASYDY noted that at the same time the guild cares about the functionality of the Public Service. As he said, the reform should help with real modernisation and not lead to deregulation of the Civil Service. "To this end, we believe that some aspects of it should be given time for further consultation, so that we can lead to arrangements that are workable and rational," he added. Concluding, he noted that some procedures have begun regarding the service plans, as well as the training of staff who will make evaluations.
