The Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) decided not to suspend the Director-General (DG) of the Department of Employment and Human Resources of the Labour Ministry. The decision came after the 15th Commission Meeting held yesterday.
The RCSC says the decision is based on Bhutan Civil Service Rules and Regulations (BCSR) and in line with the Court Order of the Supreme Court issued on 17th July 2013 regarding the Gyalposhing Land Case.
Section 19.10.1 of the BCSR 2018 states that suspension shall be discretionary and not mandatory in its application whereas Section 19.10.5 of BCSR also states that, once the charges are filed, public interest should be the guiding factor in deciding to place a civil servant under a suspension.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on 26th of last month, sent a letter to the RCSC asking to suspend the DG after the Office of Attorney General forwarded the labour ministry’s overseas employment programme cases of India and Japan to Thimphu district court on 23rd of last month. The ACC’s letter was as per Section 167 of the Anti-Corruption Act of Bhutan 2011, which states that a public servant who is charged with an offence under this Act shall be suspended with effect from the date of the charge till pending the outcome of any appeals. The letter also stated that, if the decision is not to suspend the DG, RCSC should ensure that DG does not use public resources including office time to appear before the court.
Meanwhile, the RCSC also decided if the DG desires to attend the court, he must do so by availing appropriate leave at his own expenses and shall not be permitted to use any government resources while attending the court.
This means the RCSC will wait for the final court verdict to take any action against the DG. Meanwhile, the labour ministry has also not taken any action against the ministry’s programme officer as the ministry awaits the RCSC’s decision on the DG.
Pema Tshewang
