Freeze on civil servants awaits govt approval

The recommendations, which are part of the current bureaucratic reform process, and would come into effect between 2014 to 2018, also state that all civil servants would need to undergo training to meet the minimum requirements of the Asean Economic Community (AEC), commencing in 2015. 

The positions to be affected by the recommendations include all types of government personnel – including contract workers – receiving remuneration that relies on annual government budgets. However, members of the Armed Forces would not be affected, say the recommendations – made by the commission’s State Resources and Policy Specification Committee (SRPSC).

In cases of retirement, only important vacancies would be filled. However, replacements would not be automatically made on a position-by-position basis. Further criteria on new hiring and replacements would be subject to future SRPSC amendments, the document said.

Training for all active government workers is also recommended under a “Develop Workforce Strategic Readiness” master plan to accommodate the AEC. 

Eighty per cent of the workers are also expected to create “Career Planning and Succession Planning” for themselves and their agencies, respectively.