Minister of Home Affairs Le Vinh Tan presents a report on the draft amendments to the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants and the Law on Public Employees on April 17 – PHOTO: TNO

Minister of Home Affairs Le Vinh Tan presented a proposal for amending and supplementing some articles of the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants and the Law on Public Employees at a meeting of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on April 17, reported the Vietnam News Agency.

The signing of indefinite-term labor contracts for the fresh recruitment of public employees will not occur when the revised Law on Public Employees takes effect in January 2020.

Currently, those officials who finish their contracts for the second time are automatically entitled to the signing of contracts with an indefinite term.

“The regulation ensures competitiveness is maintained and, at the same time, encourages recruited officials to enhance their capacity and fulfill their responsibilities and tasks well,” said Minister Tan.

However, the proposed regulation will create an inconsistency among officials whose recruitment took place before and after the effective date of the amended law.

In addition, it is necessary to amend and supplement the regulation in the Labor Code in a transparent way to ensure the consistency of the legal system since Article 22 states that labor contracts with fixed terms should only be offered twice, and if the employee keeps working beyond that, a labor contract without a fixed term should be signed.

Disciplinary action against retired officials

Lawmakers agreed that retired cadres should still be disciplined for the violations they committed in the discharge of their duties but called for more clarification on legal guidelines.

Minister Tan said that the proposed disciplinary measures against retired cadres – censure, warning and finally stripping them of their titles at the time when the violation is committed – were new additions that might encounter legal issues during their execution.

The NA Judicial Committee agreed that the new regulation was necessary as it institutionalizes the Party Central Committee’s demand for the strict handling of offenders, even when they have switched to another position or have retired.

Regarding the proposed measures involving retroactively stripping the offending official of their title or position, the committee’s chairwoman, Le Thi Nga, called for greater consideration, citing the case of former Industry and Trade Minister Vu Huy Hoang.

“His position was a historical fact. Everything that he did, including the documents he signed as the leader of the ministry, will be called into question,” she said, suggesting that the documents he signed would not be automatically rendered null and void, unless the court deemed otherwise.

Nga said the title deprivation must be clarified to stress that the measure is meant to take away the benefits that come with the title, while other rights such as social insurance or health insurance will remain intact.

The judicial chair also agreed with the draft’s proposed statute of limitation of five years but pointed out that in cases of severe violations, there would not be a limit to issuing disciplinary measures.

“When the official is already 70-80 years old, is it appropriate or practical to summon him for disciplinary action for something he did wrong 20 years ago?” asked NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

She also voiced her support for retaining demotion as an important and highly powerful disciplinary action. SGT