Civil servants are preparing to move the court against the government putting voluntary retirement on hold.
"Do interpretation of laws and implementation style also change along with the government? Why is voluntary retirement not being prioritized? Is it wrong for the civil servants to apply in accordance to the notice issued by the Ministry of General Administration?" Section Officer at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers Mitra Prasad Khatiwada questioned. "We initially believed that the ministry will conclude the issue. But it now seems we have to go to the court."
Accusing the senior officers at the ministry of trying to block voluntary retirement by provoking General Administration Minister Lal Babu Pandit, the civil servants have accused the government of trying to impose autocracy. They say they do not have any alternative to going to the court after the ministry did not provide information despite asking twice to provide the list of staffers who opted for voluntary retirement.
"Where has the process of voluntary retirement been stopped and why? Does anyone else not have rights to know such information?" Khatiwada added. "Why has resignation of a staffer who opted for voluntary retirement been approved? Can the resignation be approved as per the law?"
He argued that any staffer who has opted for voluntary retirement cannot resign as the Employee Integration Act prohibits withdrawal of application for voluntary retirement.
Khatiwada and accounts officer at the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology Ganesh Prasad Guragai have written to the secretary at the Ministry of General Administration reminding that the government cannot be autocratic simply because it has two-third majority in the parliament. The staffers have also warned of protest along with legal remedy in the letter.
The letter has also been copied to the prime minister, chief secretary, and the official trade union of civil servants.
Staffers who have served for more than 20 years and are above 50 years in age have opted for voluntary retirement as per the government offer to those who do not want to be deputed at the provincial and local levels. The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration has not even published the list of 9,656 staffers who have opted for voluntary retirement. It was earlier set to be published on March 27.
The ministry replying to the application of staffers about information on the list of those who have opted for voluntary retirement has instead asked the staffers the purpose and justification for seeking the information.
Minister Pandit has put voluntary retirement on hold citing lack of staffers and arguing that the country cannot bear the financial burden of paying off the staffers opting for voluntary retirement.
The ministry has been arguing that it cannot offer voluntary retirement when the local bodies that require 36,000 staffers are short by 10,000 and Minister Pandit has already asked the staffers who do not want to work to resign.
Around 1,300 of the staffers, who opted for voluntary retirement, have already ended service. But they have yet to get pension books in lack of letter of retirement from the ministry.
