Cabinet approves civil service reform bills

By Angelos Anastasiou
Five government bills reforming the civil service in terms of hiring, appraisal, promotion and remuneration were approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, Undersecretary to the President and Reform Commissioner Constantinos Petrides said.
Speaking after the cabinet session, Petrides said implementation of the bills, scheduled to start on January 1, 2017, will radically change the nature of the public service and safeguard the viability of public finances.
“There will thus be no need in future to resort to any cutbacks on public spending or hiking taxes, since the government’s payroll and budget will not be derailed,” he said.
Petrides explained that salary bumps in the public service will be tied to the trajectory of the gross domestic product, “as happens in the private sector”.
“Thus, at whatever rate the economy grows, the extra revenues are largely funnelled to salaries. The public service must also follow this distribution, so that the public sector and civil servants get their fair share, and in periods of crisis an automatic mechanism should ensure they also contribute commensurately with the private sector.”
The Reform Commissioner expressed the hope that the bills will be voted by parliament, noting that agreement has been reached with civil servants’ union PASYDY on the proposed reforms.
Asked whether the government has considered the lifting of restrictions on public-sector hiring, Petrides said the government’s aim is a return to normalcy as soon as possible.
“In parallel with tabling the bills, we are working on a plan of gradual unfreezing promotions, so that with the implementation of the new government payroll we return to normal,” he explained.
“But on the other hand, the government-payroll reform bill ensures that hiring will no longer be done uncontrollably. There will be checks on the government payroll in terms of hiring, which will be done strictly on an as-needed basis.”
Petrides said the government’s plan is for the “special contribution” imposed on civil servants’ salaries – a measure designed to shore up the fragile public finances, bringing in some €70 million annually – to be abolished with the introduction of the new regime.
“The plan for its abolishment is the end of 2016,” he said.
“I don’t know whether it will be feasible earlier, but the intention is for this distortion to be removed by the end of 2016.”
With regard to the Public Service Commission, also featuring heavily in the reform bills, Petrides said that its role is being upgraded.
“It becomes a truly oversight body,” he explained.
“They will have increased jurisdiction in implementing the examination system, perhaps in collaboration with other bodies like the University of Cyprus, and will also conduct interviews for higher-paying jobs.”
He added that another significant change is that appraisal and promotions will be decided on the basis of a mixed point-system, comprising examinations, on-the-job evaluation, academic and professional credentials, prior experience, an interview, and a superior’s recommendation.
But, he said, certain sub-groups within the public service will be excluded from the new regime.
“There are certain specialised groups, for instance teachers, for whom we will need to implement a different system,” he said.
The five bills have been posted on the Reform Commission’s website (in Greek only), at http://www.reform.gov.cy/crcs/crcs.nsf/All/E7991AEBB6EDA5A2C2257EAD00332224?OpenDocument

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