RCSC freezes recruitment

All decentralized recruitment at the entry level positions including GSP and ESP and in-service recruitments within the broad-banded positions except the P1 positions (chief positions) are to be put on freeze by the Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC).

According to RCSC, the government has directed RCSC to carry out a thorough organizational development (OD) exercise urgently. The purpose of the OD exercise will be to review the existing structures and positions vis-à-vis the objectives of the organizations and to arrive at the actual HR requirement.

The RCSC Chairman, Karma Tshiteem, said, “The RCSC has already formed an OD team and very soon they will be trained in conducting OD exercise. The pilot phase OD exercise will start with Ministry of Agriculture and Forests and Ministry of Health from September this year. The duration to complete OD exercise for ministries and agencies will depend on its size and the complexity, and the RCSC’s target is to complete it within 12-18 months.”

He added that the recruitment of regular civil servants below S1 positions has been decentralized to agencies. ‘The RCSC has stopped all decentralized recruitments including the in-service recruitment within broad-banded position except P1 positions,” the RCSC Chairman said.

He said it will affect those candidates issued with the eligibility certificate as no vacancies will be open. However, the current eligibility certificate is valid for two years and the graduates may get absorbed in corporations and private firms as most prefer graduates with the eligibility certificate.

Most graduates that this paper spoke to said the validity of EC should be increased for another two years for the graduates who had appeared for the RCSC exams in 2012 and 2013.

The RCSC Chairman said 4% of the population, around seven hundred thousand, in Bhutan comprise of civil servants, a ratio of 1:29 which is one of the highest in South Asia. In 2009-2013, the size of civil service has grown at 5% per annum, adding to a large civil service workforce in a small developing country. “The size of civil service will continue to grow but with decreasing trend. The agencies which are human

resource intensive will be studied and will be priority based,” said Karma Tshiteem.

RCSC has made an exception for P1 positions which are not broad banded positions and thereby allowing the agencies to select and appoint the right persons to the managerial positions through competitive basis.

Sonam Chopel who holds the eligibility certificate (EC) issued by RCSE has been job hunting for the last two years. He said the freezing of vacancies is a huge problem for the graduates holding eligibility certificates. He added that it goes against the government promise of providing 100% employment. “There are no vacancies for jobs in the government. I think the freezing is done in order to raise the salary of the government servants and if government employed in fresh candidates in jobs then there will be shortage of budget. I am very upset with the freezing of recruitment in the government jobs. The validity of eligibility certificate of RCSC should be extended in this case,” Sonam Chopel added.

Sonam Choden, also an eligibility certificate holder said there are no more vacancy announcement for jobs in the government. “I am also trying for the corporate and private sector but the private sector is facing difficultly and there is also a limited vacancy in private and corporate sector.” She added that she has been looking for jobs in the last two years and said the EC is of no use since its validity will expire in 2015.

Other job hunters holding the EC said the freeze on the government job will increase the number of unemployed youth in the country. “With the eligibility certificate, I do have some hope to get job but with this freezing, our EC will be of no use because the validity is only for two years and my quota to appear RCSC had been over,” said Yeshi, an unemployed youth.

According to RCSC, the decision to place the freeze on job recruitment was made during the 2nd and 3rd commission meetings held on June 3 and June 10, which was in line with Section 27 of CSAB 2010, under Chapter 4; recruitment, selection and appointment of regular civil service, and Chapter 6; general and elementary service and Section 13.7, Chapter 13 of the BCSR 2012.