The government has drafted the Public Servants Act that prevents punitive actions against a government employee before departmental measures.
It also makes taking prior approval mandatory to arrest a public servant.
The Secretarial Committee on Administrative Development Affairs discussed the draft on Sunday.
The draft would be finalised in the committee’s next meeting, said public administration ministry’s Senior Secretary Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury.
“The draft will be reviewed meticulously. We will also analyse the laws in the neighbouring countries in this regard,” he told bdnews24.com.
The draft would be placed at the Cabinet after approval of the secretarial committee before it goes to Parliament.
Without an Act, designed to regulate jobs and other affairs of public servants, the government until now formulated regulations, guidelines and issued orders time to time for this purpose.
bdnews24.com has obtained a copy of the draft of the Public Servants Act.
It says that punitive actions against a government employee cannot be taken without departmental measures and without allowing the accused to defend themselves.
The Anti Corruption Commission and organisations with similar authority will be able to investigate corruption allegations against a public servant and file a case with the court.
However, the draft stipulates that a prior approval from the government will be required to arrest a public servant.
It says that if an individual is convicted for more than a three-year prison term, they would be suspended permanently from service.
However, in case of a conviction less than that, the President will decide whether the public servant can keep the job.
A government employee will also be able to file a case seeking compensation if the charges against him are not proven.
The draft says an individual’s merit, seniority and professional efficiency will be the factors to consider for promotion.
It also proposes a Permanent Pay Commission, which would review the market prices trend every year and recommend adjustments.
The draft kept provisions for reward and recognition for government employees for special contributions to public service.
It says a public servant cannot be affiliated with any political party and has to dedicate himself to serve the citizens without prejudice.
Source: bdnews24
As it appears the main activity of this self-elected govt has been to give corruption an institutional form and therefore they are leaving no stone unturned to save the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats from the clutches of law. Hail Hasina! Hail the self elected govt!!