Gov’t Announces 5,001 New Hires Authorized for 2015

A month after Prime Minister Hun Sen issued a directive ordering government bodies to put a halt on new hires—except to fill vacated positions—the Ministry of Public Function has authorized state institutions to hire 5,001 civil servants to replace those who had recently retired, quit or been fired, according to a statement released Tuesday.

“The government offers permission to recruit new civil servants in 2015 in line with the number of civil servants who have lost their jobs,” says the statement signed by Public Function Minister Pich Bunthin.

According to the statement, in 29 government institutions, 3,682 people have retired, 1,226 people have been removed for not showing up to work and 93 people have left their organization due to a disability.

The statement did not specify during what period of time these civil servants had left, and officials at the Public Function Ministry could not be reached.

On March 5, Mr. Hun Sen issued a directive stating that no new civil servants could be hired this year, except to fill jobs that were being vacated.

Kao Poeun, president of the Cambodian Independent Civil Servants Association, said that instead of hiring new employees, the government should focus on increasing salaries and eliminating so-called “ghost workers” who do not show up to work.

“I think that there is no shortage in…the number of civil servants in each government institution, but the shortage is the number of people going to work,” he said.

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