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| Public
service on the brink of collapse?
By
Santhush Fernando Is the Tissa Devendra Salaries Commission Report - 2000, which not only dealt with public service salaries, but also recommended sweeping reforms aimed at greater efficiency, facing a similar fate? An efficient Public Service is a sine qua non for economic growth. The economic success of countries such as Singapore and Malaysia is also largely due to the Public Service efficiency achieved through bold reforms. The Tissa Devendra Salaries Commission, which is generally misunderstood as a body that recommends only public service salary hikes, in its report had proposed a range of recommendations aimed at improving the Public Service. But sadly, they still remain on paper. Worse, the government, in an apparent act of spurning the proposals, has now appointed a three-member committee to study afresh and recommend salary hikes for public servants. "How can an ad-hoc committee find solutions to complex problems within two weeks?" asks a disappointed Tissa Devendra who also questions the rationale behind the non-implementation of his committee’s proposals which were drawn up after an extensive three year research. (See box story for his comments.) The Tissa Devendra Commission, appointed by President Chandrika Kumaratunga during the PA regime, has identified a paradoxical situation that has placed the Public Service almost on the brink of collapse. It says that while the Public Service suffers due to the dearth of professionals and skilled personnel to fill important positions, overstaffing at other levels is also adding to its burden. It calls for a strict check on creation of posts, a review of vacant posts, reorganization of departments, closure of redundant units, restructure and privatisation, use of computer and hi-tech office automation, a complete halt to casual and temporary appointments and the abolition of all vacant posts which are no longer necessary and a Performance Appraisal system. As far as salaries are concerned, the 2000 report recommends a minimum wage of Rs. 6,000 and a salary hike formula, by which lower level employees will get a higher percentage of salary hike than what is given to those in the higher-level. This scheme has been recommended to bring down the ratio of the lowest-level to the highest-level from 1:8 to 1:6.3. Here are some of the other recommendations of the commission:
The commission report declares: "It is time we took a fresh look at the administrative system in light of our present development change. The quality, motivation and management skills of the administrative system must be improved." Although the commission was empowered to report on pensions as well, a separate commission on pensions was set up later. However, the Commission also has made some recommendations, calling for a revised formula for pension and the creation of a pension fund. The work of the commission was of paramount importance as it dealt with the whole of the public service, inclusive of armed forces, state banks and semi-government staff who made up 17.3% of the country's 6.7 million work force. The total public sector cadre strength of 707,792 is regarded as one of the highest percentages in the region -- 3.7% or 1 in 27. The high government expenditure on the Public Service -- 25% of the recurrent expenditure or 5% of the GDP -- had made it a negative factor in development. The recommendations also dealt with the problems regarding transport which the commission identifies as a vital area linked to efficiency. "Public transport should be developed to prevent the loss of many man-hours as the time and energy spent in getting to and from the workplace is enormous. Public servants often arrive late to work and in a physically and mentally drained state, not fit for work. They should be able to come on time to office and return to their homes without much difficulty," the report says. Under the concept of framework for future, the report proposes a permanent commission on administration vested with responsibilities of cadre management, wage policy, techniques of job evaluation, work system and procedures, productivity and performance appraisal, professional expertise development, training, regulation of salaries, allowances. etc. (Salaries should be reviewed every three years.) The report proposes that legal provisions should be enacted to limit the number of Cabinet Ministries and posts sanctioned in departments and ministries. It also recommends that "future recruitment should be of multi-duty officers". It also urges that Public Service Commission be given authority to appoint Heads of Department. To provide a better service to the public, the report proposes a Board of Arbitration and a "Clients' Charter". Implement
the recommendations: Tissa Mr. Devendra scoffed at the government's move to appoint a three-member committee to look in to public sector salaries, calling it a "laughable" matter. He asked: How could a three member committee do in two weeks what the Salaries commission achieved in three years? Pointing out that the scope of the Commission was not limited to salaries alone, Mr. Devendra called for the setting up of a permanent commission on administration to address the issue. Asked whether he believed that the present government would accept the proposals of a commission which was appointed by President Kumaratunga during the PA regime, Mr. Devendra said it was upto the present government to decide but added that it was President Kumaratunga who was the head of government. He, however, said some ministers were trying to implement some of the proposals, without giving the commission its due credit. He was referring to the government's move to effect a salary hike for doctors in the aftermath of the recent strike. He said that it was with much care and diligence that they had prepared a comprehensive report and if the government tried to implement just a fraction of the recommendations, it would render the whole exercise futile. On the issue of risk allowances for doctors serving in danger zones, the commission, he said had recommended an insurance scheme with a substantial compensation package instead of a meagre monthly allowance. He also said that he did not think it was a wise move to increase the public sector salaries by 50 percent -- a demand placed before the cabinet by President Kumaratunga recently. Referring to the perennial problem of public sector strikes, Mr. Devendra said the county should adopt a Public Utilities Act -- as in Malaysia and Singapore -- under which employees of essential public services could not engage in spontaneious strikes. Mr. Devendra who has an honours degree in English from the University of Ceylon is a senior civil servant who has served in many parts of the country. He also served as the Chairman of the Public ServiceCommission. In addition to the many positions he has held in the public sector he is also a well-known author on many subjects including Sri Lankan history and culture. What
is Client’s Charter?
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