Eliminate the position of Commune Police Chief, increase commune-level civil servants according to population size

On June 10, the Government issued Decree No. 33 regulating commune-level cadres, civil servants and part-time workers at commune, village and residential group levels.

Introducing the new points of the decree, Director of the Department of Local Government ( Ministry of Home Affairs ) Phan Trung Tuan said that one of the new points of this decree is that it does not stipulate the title of Chief of Commune Police (because regular police have been arranged at the commune level).

Another notable point is that the decree supplements regulations to increase (without maximum control) the number of commune-level civil servants and non-professional workers in commune-level administrative units with population size and natural area higher than the standards prescribed in Resolution No. 1211/2016 (amended and supplemented in Resolution No. 27/2022 of the National Assembly Standing Committee).

According to current regulations, the number of commune-level cadres and civil servants is fixed according to the type of administrative unit. Specifically, for wards of type I - II - III, the corresponding number is 23 - 21 - 19 people, for communes and towns of type I - II - III, the corresponding number is 22 - 20 - 18 people. The number of non-professional workers in communes of type I - II - III is 14 - 12 - 10 people.

The new decree stipulates the number of cadres and civil servants according to population size and natural area.

Specifically, for wards in districts, for every increase of 1/3 of the prescribed level, 1 civil servant and 1 non-professional worker can be added; for the remaining administrative units, for every increase of 1/2 of the prescribed level, 1 civil servant and 1 non-professional worker can be added.

According to the natural area, in addition to increasing the number of civil servants and non-professional workers according to the above population size, each commune-level administrative unit that increases by 100% of the prescribed level will be allowed to increase by 1 civil servant and 1 non-professional worker.

The Decree stipulates the implementation of the contract for each locality (provincial level) and decentralizes the provincial People's Committee to submit to the People's Council of the same level to decide on the specific number of commune-level cadres, civil servants and part-time workers at the commune level of each district-level administrative unit under its management, in accordance with practical requirements but must ensure that it does not exceed the total number of commune-level cadres, civil servants and part-time workers at the commune level calculated for the entire provincial level according to this regulation.

Based on the total number of cadres, civil servants and part-time workers at the commune level assigned by the Provincial People's Council, the District People's Committee decides on the number and specific arrangement of cadres, civil servants and part-time workers at each commune-level administrative unit in accordance with practical requirements, but must ensure that it does not exceed the total number of cadres, civil servants and part-time workers at the commune level assigned by the Provincial People's Council to the district level.

Commune-level civil servants according to the competency framework from university level or higher

In addition, the decree continues to stipulate 3 positions of non-professional workers (including Party cell secretary, village or residential group leader, and head of the Front working committee) and those directly participating in activities in villages and residential groups.

The Decree also stipulates decentralization for the Provincial People's Committee to submit to the People's Council of the same level to specify the titles and number of people directly participating in activities in villages and residential groups under its management in accordance with practical requirements.

Another notable point that Mr. Tuan also said is that the decree clearly stipulates the standards of commune-level officials and civil servants according to the competency framework from university level and above, except in cases where the law or the organization's charter has other regulations and tasks according to the job description of each position and title (job position).

In case of being a commune-level cadre or civil servant but not yet meeting the standards, the transitional provisions stipulate that within 5 years from the effective date of the decree, the prescribed standards must be met.

If the prescribed standards are not met by this deadline, the retirement regime (if eligible) will be implemented or the staff reduction policy will be implemented according to the Government's regulations. This Decree takes effect from August 1, 2023.

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