Focus on building, developing, and improving the quality of the workforce of civil servants in ethnic minority areas.

During the discussion in the National Assembly on the morning of November 13th regarding the draft Law on Public Employees (amended), National Assembly Deputy Cao Thi Xuan (Thanh Hoa) suggested that the drafting agency should continue to research and refine the relevant provisions of the draft Law, ensuring they are consistent with the Party and State's ethnic policies, and contribute to building, developing, and improving the quality of public employees in ethnic minority areas.

During the discussion session, National Assembly Deputy Cao Thi Xuan agreed on the necessity of amending the Law on Public Employees. The draft Law on Public Employees (amended) has fully institutionalized the Party's policies on restructuring and improving the quality of the public employee workforce and the efficiency of public service units; at the same time, it overcomes the limitations and shortcomings of the current law.

Furthermore, the draft law has met the requirements for innovative thinking in lawmaking. The law only stipulates basic, important, and principled contents within the authority of the National Assembly ; detailed issues and frequently changing practical matters are left to the Government to regulate.

National Assembly Deputy Cao Thi Xuan ( Thanh Hoa ) speaks in the assembly hall on the morning of November 13. Photo: Pham Thang

Commenting on this draft law, National Assembly Deputy Cao Thi Xuan focused on the policies for building and developing the civil servant workforce as stipulated in Article 6 of the draft law. Specifically, Clause 1 of Article 6 states: "The State shall have policies to build and develop a civil servant workforce with professional ethics, qualifications, and professional competence appropriate to each sector and field."

Through monitoring the implementation of national target programs on building new rural areas, poverty reduction, and socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous regions; and the results of the thematic supervision on "Implementation of policies and laws on human resource development and utilization," and the thematic supervision on "Implementation of policies and laws on reforming the organizational and management system, improving the quality and efficiency of public service units in the period 2018-2023," National Assembly Deputy Cao Thi Xuan observed that, for mountainous areas, ethnic minority regions, and areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions, the issue of human resources is always a "difficulty" in the implementation of policies and laws of the Party and the State. In particular, human resources in the fields of health and education are always insufficient and weak; human resources in essential and basic public service sectors are also lacking.

According to the delegates, the issue currently under consideration is the "general policy" for building and developing the civil servant workforce. Meanwhile, Clause 1 of Article 6 only addresses the building and development of the civil servant workforce in accordance with "each sector and field," but does not fully institutionalize the "regional, ethnic policies of the Party and State regarding human resources, specifically the civil servant workforce"; furthermore, Clause 1 of Article 6 is also inconsistent with the regulations on the policy for developing public service units in Article 5 of the draft law, as it focuses on investment resources while lacking human resources.

A view of the morning session on November 13. Photo: Ho Long

Representative Cao Thi Xuan emphasized that the remaining policies in Article 6 also do not reflect the issue of building and developing a team of civil servants from ethnic minorities and civil servants working in ethnic minority areas, mountainous regions, and areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions.

Accordingly, the delegates requested the drafting agency to continue researching and supplementing the assessment content to finalize the relevant provisions of the draft Law, ensuring consistency with the Party and State's ethnic policies, and contributing to the building, development, and improvement of the quality of civil servants in ethnic minority areas.

Regarding the regulations on the rights of civil servants to sign contracts for professional and business activities in Article 13, delegate Cao Thi Xuan stated that these regulations aim to utilize the professional capacity and experience of civil servants in their professional activities to contribute to society, especially in jobs requiring high expertise in the fields of health and education; and at the same time, increase legitimate income for civil servants.

However, compared to the current law, the draft law has expanded and specified rights more clearly, but it "seems" to lack the "strictness" in ensuring the principle that "all duties and responsibilities of a state official must be fulfilled before engaging in outside work." In other words, without a strict monitoring mechanism, it could lead to the consequence that "primary duties become secondary," and the quality of essential basic public services is not guaranteed...

Accordingly, the delegates suggested that the drafting agency conduct a thorough review to supplement regulations aimed at avoiding the aforementioned risks, and if necessary, delegate the authority to provide detailed regulations to allow more time for planning and ensuring the feasibility, effectiveness, and efficiency of measures in managing the civil servant workforce.

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Commenting on some technical aspects, National Assembly Deputy Cao Thi Xuan stated: The last sentence of Clause 4, Article 21 stipulates that civil servants have the right to “…be given priority in being recruited as civil servants when they reach the retirement age if they so desire.” She proposed adjusting this to state that individuals under 18 who have signed labor or service contracts will be: “given priority in being recruited as civil servants when they reach the retirement age if they so desire.” Such a regulation would be more appropriate and scientific, as the age of eligibility for civil servant recruitment is 18 years old. Furthermore, the current draft regulation could lead to arbitrariness in implementation due to the lack of a common criterion for when someone reaches the retirement age.

Furthermore, Clause 1 of Article 37 stipulates: "The head of the competent agency, organization, or unit may decide to temporarily suspend a civil servant from work if the civil servant shows signs of violating regulations in the performance of their duties...". The use of the phrase "may" is discretionary, not mandatory, and inappropriate in a legal document, so the representative proposed removing this phrase.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/quan-tam-xay-dung-phat-trien-nang-cao-chat-luong-doi-ngu-vien-chuc-vung-dong-bao-dan-toc-thieu-so-10395491.html