Estonian bill to slash 10,000 public service jobs

Justice Minister Rein Lang told reporters that if the bill is adopted as it stands the number of officials could decrease to 16,000 from the present 26,000.

The provisions cutting public servants' benefits will largely apply to officials starting work after the enactment of the bill as in the ministry's opinion legitimate expectation applies to existing public servants.

The bill defines as public servants only employees who actually exercise public power such as issue permits, and proposes to conclude in the future employment contracts with people whose work is rather of a technical or administrative character.

The bill proposes to regulate public servants' wage system to tie a person's remuneration more closely to his actual contribution and eliminate the numerous benefits. Under the new rules, an official's salary would consist of just the base wage and an individual bonus. The base wage should make up at least 70 percent of the end salary, the proposed legislation says.

It is also intended that all vacancies would be filled by competition rather than through in-house promotion so as to ensure equal access to positions.

The bill would replace the existing bureaucratic certification system with a more flexible development and evaluation system and place the Ministry of Finance in charge of public service.

Redundancy payments to public servants would be slashed by almost two-thirds.

After the new public service law steps into force, state institutions would have a one-year transition period to review staff and decide which employees will continue as public servants and which would have to continue working under an employment contract.

Lang said the bill represents the Justice Ministry's vision of how public service should function in the future. The ministry now awaits with interest other ministries' response, he said.

The minister predicted heated debates among politicians as well as among interested parties.