The Bhutanese Leading the way.
It was hoped that a generous 50 % civil service pay hike would slow down the attrition rate and it appears to have done just that.
Civil servants got their pay hike on 31st July 2023 and so the separation rate in August 2023 was a crucial test.
There is a noticeable slowdown in the attrition rate in August with only 243 leaving the service which is the lowest this year.
This is compared to 358 in July, 460 in June, 383 in May, 312 in May, 350 in March, 937 in February and 583 in January.
A RCSC official said the pay hike has played a major role, but other additional factors are also the increasing difficulty to get visas to Australia with tightening conditions there and also a natural ebb after the previous highs.
In earlier stories by this paper, college students and young graduates also said they plan to stay back and try for the RCSC due to the hike.
In Australia, the 48 hours per fortnight working hours’ restriction is back since 1st July and getting a visa has become more difficult as Australia tightens its visa and entry rules with stricter measures to follow. There are also stories of difficulty of getting accommodation, jobs and other issues.
Of the 243 who separated 236 were voluntary resignations, 4 were contract completion, 2 were terminations and 1 was death.
Of the 243 who left 2 were in the executive and specialist category, 136 in the professional and management category, 95 in the supervisory and support category and 10 in the Operational Category.
The drop in numbers will come as a huge relief as January to August 2023 had seen huge numbers leaving with 3,626 civil servants separating from the service with a 12.22 % attrition rate.
This is compared to 1,420 leaving from January to August 2022, 1,113 from January to August 2021 and 765 from January to August 2020.
Of the 3,626 civil servants separated from the service in the last 8 months 2,869 were voluntary resignation, 444 were delinking (judiciary staff delinked from RCSC), 147 were contract completion, 108 were superannuation, 24 were death, 10 was compulsory retirement, 10 was termination and 2 were by order.
The largest losses were seen in the education and training services group with 1,082, administrative and support services group at 684, legal, judiciary and legislative services at 329 (mainly due to delinking of judiciary staff from RCSC), medical and health services group at 317, architectural, engineering and land services group at 307, finance and audit services at 179, agriculture and livestock services at 153, forestry and environment protection services at 126, laboratory and technical services at 96, sport and youth services group at 67, planning and research services at 65, ICT services at 58, HR services at 54, library, archives and museum group at 34, transportation and aviation services at 23 and trade industry and tourism services group.
Among agencies the highest numbers were lost by Wangdue Dzongkhag, Thimphu Thromde, Chukha Dzongkhag, Samtse Dzongkhag and Ministry of Finance.
Of the 3,626 who separated in the executive and specialist category it saw 4 executives and 17 specialists leaving.
Then in the PMC category the highest numbers leaving are from the P 5 category at 678.
143 P 1 level officers also left, followed by 281 P 2 officers, 384 P 3 officers and 370 P 4 officers.
