ISLAMABAD: In an effort to expedite the elimination of contingency posts, the Ministry of Finance has instructed all federal ministries, divisions and their subordinate offices to adhere to a federal cabinet directive on cost-cutting.

According to sources, only 15-16 of over 40 ministries and divisions have started the process more than two months after the cabinet made a decision in this regard, while others have shown lukewarm response.

In a fresh memorandum this week, the finance ministry reminded all ministries and divisions of the cabinet’s Aug 27 decision mandating the elimination of all contingency posts. The new memorandum requires compliance reports to be provided.

Contingency employees are not permanent, or in the officer cadre. Rather, they are hired for a specific term or a project with no long term rights, so it is easier to relieve them in the initial phase of right-sizing.

Finance ministry reminds all depts of cabinet’s Aug 27 decision, calls for fast-track removal of ‘contingency posts’

While the establishment division is responsible for coordination with all federal ministries and divisions in terms of matters relating to employees, the Ministry of Finance has been directed by the cabinet to ensure “live visibility on the cash balances of all government entities”.

Unless the ministries completed the process of elimination of posts, it was practically difficult for the finance ministry to handle the financial implications.

As of early last month, fewer than 5,000 posts were abolished and fewer than 2,000 were declared “dying positions”.

A few days ago, the establishment division had separately reminded ministries and divisions to ensure compliance with cabinet decisions. The Ministry of Finance and the establishment division are due to submit a compliance report to the federal cabinet in a couple of weeks.

Outsourcing of non-core functions

Last month, the establishment division also directed all ministries and divisions to outsource general and non-core servicing like cleaning, plumbing and gardening as ordered by the cabinet under the “right-sizing” policy.

Soon after the cabinet’s decision on Aug 27, the Ministry of Finance notified a ban on unnecessary expenditures and started working with the Ministry of Law to offer a “severance package” to public sector employees becoming surplus owing to the restructuring of the federal ministries and their attached departments.

Official documents conveyed to various ministries said the Aug 27 cabinet meeting also decided to abolish or reclassify 60 per cent of vacant regular posts, totalling around 150,000, and to outsource general, non-core services like cleaning, plumbing and gardening to drastically reduce grade-1-16 positions.

The cabinet has also decided to amend the Civil Servants Act of 1973 to insert a new definition in Section 2(1h) for “severance package” to mean that financial compensation duly notified by the Finance Division would be offered to the surplus staff.

Another new section — 11-C — will be inserted in the act, whose Subsection 1 says that “in case a division, department or office is to be abolished, restructured or reorganised, the decision to that effect shall be taken by the federal government after due consideration of its functional efficacy”.

Under Subsection 2 of this section, “the federal government shall offer, to the concerned civil servants, a severance package balancing the rights of the civil servants and obligations of the federal government”.

Under Subsection 3, “a civil servant may file a representation, within seven days, before a committee constituted by the prime minister. The committee shall decide the representation within 30 days. In case a civil servant does not accept the severance package, his/her services shall be liable to be terminated”.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2024