Повна версія

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On Tuesday, February 23, 2021, at 12:00 hours, an extraordinary meeting of the Verkhovna Rada will take place; the meeting was convened on the President’s initiative to consider one item only:

LAW OF UKRAINE “ON AMENDING CERTAIN LAWS OF UKRAINE TO RESUME THE HOLDING OF COMPETITIONS FOR PUBLIC SERVICE POSITIONS AND OTHER ISSUES OF PUBLIC SERVICE,” with proposals of the President of Ukraine dated February 18, 2021 (registration No. 4531) ( the Committee recommends that the bill be adopted as a whole, with regard to the President’s proposals ) – the bill provides for resumption of competitions for public service positions which were suspended in connection with the quarantine; the new competitions will be announced within 6 months; public servants appointed on a non-competitive basis during the quarantine period will be allowed to remain in their offices for no more than 9 months since the coming into force of the Law; the possibility for public servants of category A (the highest rank – heads of central executive bodies, state secretaries of Ministries, State Secretary and Deputy State Secretary) to be dismissed on the initiative of the appointing entity with subsequent stay in a non-staff capacity and payment of 6 fixed salaries (so-called “golden parachute”) will be revoked. The Law establishes that, in a competition for the highest-ranking public service positions, no more than 3 (instead of 5, as before) candidates may be proposed to the appointing entity (as a rule, this is the Cabinet of Ministers).

The President noted that vesting in the Deputy Ministers only some, instead of all, of the powers of Minister during a period when the office of the Minister is vacant is the parliament’s way to avoid exercising its constitutional powers to appoint members of the Government, since the parliament’s long- lasting failure to adopt a decision to appoint a Minister will inevitably lead to paralysis of the respective Ministry.

FOR (+) No. 4531: The transparency and objectivity provided for by competitions in the selection of public servants; the possibility to fill vacancies; the reduction of state spending on payments to public servants dismissed from category A positions; reduced staff turnover rate in public service. Restoration of the full functionality of Ministries, manageability of branches of industry, and capacity to respond to emergency situations, in particular possibility to pay salaries to coalminers, to allocate funds for elimination of accidents, to appoint heads of state enterprises, etc.

AGAINST (–) No. 4531: The impossibility to replace highest-ranking public servants in the event of change of the Government and/or the content of state policy; the holding of competitions under quarantine conditions will increase the risk of spread of COVID-19; additional spending on sanitary and hygienic measures during the competitions.