Egypt govt insists on implementing new civil service law despite protest

Egypt Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab said on Monday the government is insisting on the implementation of a new civil service law, following a protest in Cairo against the legislation.

“The government is completely convinced that issuing the law will lead to the managerial reform plan which is a step in the direction of achieving social, economic and political reform,” Mahlab said, according to a statement issued by Egypt’s cabinet.

The civil service law, which was passed in March shortly before Egypt’s International Economic Conference, aims to reform Egypt’s administrative apparatus in order to encourage investments by curbing bureaucratic inefficiencies, streamlining hiring practices and wage-structures in government institutions.

According to the new law, basic salaries would constitute 80 percent of overall wages in all government institutions as opposed to the older unit-by-unit system of determination, while bonuses, traditionally dependent on seniority, would be calculated based on performance.

Earlier on Monday, thousands of protesters gathered at the Journalists Syndicate in downtown Cairo to condemn the law.

“The current law stipulates that if the employee received a weak assessment result in two years they would be fired, but the new law gives them opportunities to develop,” the statement read.

Under the new law, an employee with weak assessment results after two years would be transferred to another job on the same level and if the assessment is still weak after three years, a percentage would be deducted from their salary, according to the statement.

“In case their weak performance continues, a human resource committee would decide on their fate,” the statement said.

“Under the current law, the employee was promoted every six to eight years, but the new law would allow them to be promoted every three years,” the statement added.

In an interview with state news agency MENA on Monday morning, Minister of Planning Ashraf El-Arabi said that the government is not considering any changes to the controversial law.

In earlier statements, El-Arabi said that if there are any problems with the law after its passage, changes could be made to the bylaws of the legislation, but not to the law itself.

source:Ahram Online