Civil Servants will get 21 days of annual leave, instead of the 12 days as initially decided by the RCSC. This was recommended by the Economic and Finance Committee of the National Assembly today. The Royal Civil Service Commission recently introduced annual leave to promote periodic rejuvenation and work-life balance for civil servants. The house also adopted the Pay Revision Bill of Bhutan 2023.
While the committee recommended increasing the annual leave from 12 to 21 days, it stuck to the provision of unused leave days not being allowed to carry forward to the subsequent year.
According to the RCSC, the new leave system is in addition to its existing leave options and that it is not a replacement for the earned leave. The earned leave and LTC will be distributed month-wise and included as a part of the monthly variable compensation under the variable pay in line with the Pay Structure Reform Act.
According to the Chairperson of the committee Kinga Penjor, they consulted with the government and the RCSC on this matter.
“The committee has reviewed the annual leave of about 35 countries. The majority of the countries’ annual leave was between 20 and 30 days. Only about five to six countries have a week to two weeks leave scheme. So, we thought 21 days was appropriate for our country as well.”
He added that this will create a conducive and comfortable working environment for civil servants.
However, the Deputy Chairperson of the Economic and Finance Committee, Dawa raised RCSC’s concern that having long leave durations could affect public service delivery.
“The 12 days annual leave is an addition to the existing leave and is not replacing any of the existing leave. However, the RCSC is concerned that if various leave options are provided, the civil servants might take leave as it cannot be converted into money. So, if many civil servants take leave at once then, it will affect public service delivery.”
The Economic and Finance Committee also recommended that the balance of the earned leave accumulated till the end of this month after the payment of leave encashment has to be paid within five years.
The RCSC in its earlier notification stated that the balance of the earned leave can either be used while in service or encashed while exiting the civil service.
The House through a majority show of hands endorsed the recommendations.
Meanwhile, the House also adopted the Pay Revision Bill of Bhutan 2023. All 42 members present in the house voted in favour of the bill.
The bill will be introduced in the National Council tomorrow.
Kinzang Lhadon
