ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari, on the advice of the Prime Minister, Thursday approved promulgation of Civil Servants (Amendment) Ordinance 2013, making all the employees of the devolved Ministries permanent civil servants in the organizations to which they were transferred and are presently working.
Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar while giving the details of the Ordinance said that due to abolition of the Concurrent List as a result of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, devolution of subjects to the provinces and reorganization of Federal Secretariat, around ten thousand civil servants of 17 devolved Ministries/Divisions/Departments and offices were adjusted in the Federal and Provincial governments on deputation basis under Section 10 of the Civil Servants Act 1973. However, these employees are yet to be absorbed on permanent basis.
The Spokesperson said that the Implementation Commission constituted under the 18th Constitutional Amendment prepared draft legislation for amendments in the Federal Civil Servants Act 1973 and respective Provincial Civil Servants Act, however, those could not be finalized till the completion of tenure of Implementation Commission on 1st July, 2011.
Later, the IPC division, on the advice of the Establishment Division, forwarded draft legislation to Law & Justice Division on 11.07.2012 for placement before the High Powered Committee to review the federal laws in the post devolution scenario but the approval process by the Committee got delayed.
He said that during this period the employees of the devolved Ministries/ Divisions/Organizations and offices continued agitating the issue on different forums and some of them filed petitions in the superior courts.
Senator Farhatullah Babar said that in one such petition, the Islamabad High Court directed the Respondents to take all remedial steps to undo the wrong and redress the grievance of petitioners.
Accordingly with a view to redress the issue of the employees and to comply with the Court's directives following amendments have been made in Section 3 of the Civil Act 1973 through this Ordinance.
Spokesperson said that according to the Ordinance, Section 3 of the Civil Servants Act 1973 has been amended to include the following new sub-sections;
(3) The Federal Government may transfer a civil servant of a devolved Ministry or Division, working in an Attached Department or Subordinate Office situated in a Province, to the Province concerned, in consequence of the devolution of functions pursuant to the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010 (X of 2010) and thereby he shall become the civil servant of the respective Province, on the same terms and conditions of service as were applicable to him before such transfer.
(4) The Federal Government may transfer a civil servant working in a Ministry, Division, Attached Department or Subordinate Office located in the Islamabad Capital Territory to any other Ministry, Division, Attached Department or Subordinate Office, in consequence of the abolition of such Ministry, Division, Attached Department or Subordinate Office pursuant to the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010 (X of 2010) and thereby he shall become the civil servant of the respective Ministry, Division, Department or Office to which he is transferred, on the same terms and conditions of service as were applicable to him before such transfer.
(5) The seniority of the civil servants transferred by virtue of sub-sections (3) and (4) shall be determined by the concerned Province, Ministry or Division, as the case may be, in accordance with the rules.
(6) The Cases of civil servants of a Ministry, Division, Attached Department or Subordinate Office devolved in pursuant to the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010 (X of 2010) and working in FATA, Gilgit- Baltistan and AJK shall be dealt with, in the manner as may be provided by an Order made by the President in this behalf."
The Ordinance further states that if any difficulty arises in giving effect to any provision of the Civil Servants (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013, the Federal Government may make such Order, not inconsistent with the provisions of the said Ordinance, as may appear to it to be necessary for the purposes of removing the difficulty: provided that no such power shall be exercised after expiry of one year from the coming into force of the aforementioned Ordinance, it added.
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