Premier Wu questions civil evaluation reform

Wu told lawmakers that he agrees that many defects in the civil service institution need reforming, but the evaluation system does not necessarily need an overhaul to allow the axing of under-achievers.

Many rules are already in place in the evaluation system to allow the chiefs of government bodies to dismiss non-performing members of their staff, the premier argued.

Wu was answering lawmakers' questions concerning the much criticized quota system in the reform proposed by the Examination Yuan, the highest body governing the nation's civil services.

The quota system is seeking to brand at least three percent of civil servants with grade C — a level just above summary dismissal — in government offices' annual performance assessment for their members.

Wu pointed out that it would be unfair to require government bodies with good performance to give three percent of their staff the poor grade.

He disclosed eight government offices have tried out the proposed changes with differing results.

Some of the offices have found it hard to give three percent of their staff grade C, the premier said.

In some other offices, some C-graded civil servants still asked for their year-end bonuses, he said. Currently civil servants with a C Grade are denied year-end bonuses.

Wu was said to have been engaged in a heated debate with the Examination Yuan's chief, John Kuan, Thursday when the top personnel official explained the reform to President Ma Ying-jeou, as well as the premier and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng.

But the premier summed up his Thursday encounter with Kuan by saying that “I support reform.”

His remark echoed the president's show of “support” for the personnel body's reform.

But Ma asked that all reform conform to the law and constitution, and the Examination Yuan must work out ways to handle the “side effects.”

Kuan yesterday surmised that the ones that are voicing opposition to the changes are probably under-performing civil servants.

He said he believes most of the civil servants will support the reform.

He said the present evaluation system is seriously flawed and must be reformed.

Chang Che-chen, minister of civil services under Kuan, reiterated that the Examination Yuan will not revise the three-percent quota in its proposal.

He said the proposal is still pending final approval by the entire body of Examination Yuan members, and it is expected to be forwarded to the Legislature for review next month.

Some local governments, such as Taipei City and Taichung City, as well as the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party, questioned fairness of the quota.

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