The pay revision for the civil servants came with confusion for the civil servants who are on in-country Long Term Training. They said they should be entitled to a pay raise like any other civil servant but they have yet to get it. The Prime Minister during the Meet The Press session today said, the cabinet will decide on whether to give the same revision for the civil servants on in-country Long Term Training during the final cabinet meeting of the current government, next week.
According to the Bhutan Civil Service Rules and Regulations, BCSR 2018, a section states that the period of Study Leave for Long Term Training shall be considered as part of active service for the purpose of retirement benefits. Therefore, the trainees say that civil servants who are pursuing Long Term Training should be eligible for the pay revision just like any other civil servant.
Exclusion of the civil servants on in-country Long Term Training from pay revision has created a huge pay disparity.
A Civil Servant On Long Term Training said, “till now, whoever we asked to, everyone said we are eligible for the pay raise. And we had hoped we would get it soon but so far no changes have been made. We don’t get the teaching allowance that we usually get during the study period. It is clear in the policy, so we also don’t expect that. But this time the pay revision came with an allowance which applies to all public servants, starting from the Prime Minister to the lowest job position. So, we are in question why teachers undergoing Long Term Training are not treated equally.”
“If we do not get the pay raise, there is a chance that in the future, no one will be interested in pursuing a master’s programme inside the country. Most will opt to study overseas,” said another Civil Servant On Long Term Training.
They added that most of them study as boarders in their respective place of training and their families are back home which doubles their living expenses.
And the problem is no different for the day scholars.
On the other hand, according to the BCSR 2018, a section also says, “A civil servant who has been granted Study Leave for any single Long Term Training shall be entitled to the basic pay for the first twelve months. When the duration exceeds 12 months, he or she shall be entitled to 50 per cent of the basic pay for the remaining period.
Further another section states, “Allowance of any form shall cease to be paid during study leave except house rent allowance.”
According to the Royal Civil Service Commission, following the enactment of the Pay Revision Act 2023, the commission held several meetings with the Finance Ministry as the custodian of the Act to deliberate and clarify the interpretation of the Act as the structure of the pay had changed. After in-depth discussion, the commission and the ministry have concluded that in line with the BCSR 2018 and the Pay Revision Act 2023, civil servants on long-term studies are entitled only to their basic pay and house rent allowance.
But during the Meet The Press session today, the Prime Minister said that he has yet to hear from the finance ministry on the variable pay being considered as an allowance.
Prime Minister, Dr Lotay Tshering said, “Finance Ministry and RCSC say there are no changes in basic salary and people on Long Term Training are not getting the raise because the pay raise was on allowances. So, I asked, who said the pay revision this time is on allowance? We did not do anything with the basic salary because of the implications that it will have on the post-retirement benefits. But variable pay is also a salary, so I feel like they equally deserve this pay raise.”
The Prime Minister said the decision will only be made after the cabinet meets for the last time before the government ends its term on Monday.
Samten Dolkar
Edited by Tshering Zam
