Committee of Officers to review State sector recruitment process 

• Committee chaired by PM’s Secretary; tasked to present suitable recommendations for issues arising in State sector workforce, identify priority areas on essential recruitments with a specific timeline
• Acting Cabinet Spokesman Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana affirms no layoffs but to review non-essential recruitments
• Process will review possibilities of moving employee surplus to fill certain vacancies, allocating specific positions for already absorbed 60,000 graduates, halting non-essential recruitments

By Charumini de Silva

The Cabinet Ministers at its meeting on Monday has decided to appoint a Committee of Officers to review the public sector recruitment process, affirming that it does not include any layoffs in State employment.

“There was no discussion on any plans to lay off the existing State sector workforce, but to review and limit the non-essential recruitments,” Acting Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana said at the post-Cabinet meeting media briefing yesterday.

As per the statement comprising weekly Cabinet decisions issued by the Government Information Department, the Committee of Officers will be headed by Secretary to the Prime Minister to review the process.

The move came after the Government temporarily suspended recruitment for the public sector in the latter part of 2021, and Cabinet Ministers proposed to implement performance-based salaries for the State sector employees. 

“Through this new Committee, we will explore the possibilities to ‘create a balance’ by utilising the employee surplus in the public sector. The methods will include; moving excess employees to fill certain vacancies, allocating specific positions for the 60,000 graduates absorbed for education and other essential services, and halting non-essential recruitments,” Dr. Pathirana explained.

The deep-rooted populist political policies and entitlements in State sector work culture — pension, multiple bonuses per annum, over-time payments, cost-of-living allowances, and no-pay duty leave for foreign education have aspired most university graduates to seek public sector jobs and it has now expanded to an unbearable level of over 1.5 million over the decades, where the Government is struggling to pay monthly wages amidst the ongoing crisis.  

“Overall, there is a surplus of employees in the public sector already, due to the direct recruitment of graduates and other categories of employees into the State workforce from time to time following the approved recruitment procedures as well as under the policy decisions taken by successive Governments. However, it has been identified that there are vacancies for certain categories and positions,” the statement comprising weekly Cabinet decisions added. 

Against this backdrop, the Committee is tasked to present suitable recommendations for the issues arising in the State sector workforce and to identify priorities on essential recruitments with a specific timeline, to ensure the continuation of public services more efficiently and effectively.

The proposal to this effect, submitted by Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena in his capacity as the Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Council, and Local Government Minister, was approved by the Cabinet Ministers on Monday.

In August, Cabinet Co-Spokesman and Minister Bandula Gunawardena revealed that the Government could not even cover the basic expenditures of 2021 due to the dire financial situation of the economy.

“Last year, the tax income of the Government was only Rs. 1,268 billion, and of that Rs. 1,115 billion was spent to pay the State sector employees’ salaries and pension. Only Rs. 153 billion remained for all the other development and welfare initiatives,” he explained.