Minister of Home Affairs Phạm Thị Thanh Trà chairs the conference to review its performance in the first half of this year and announce tasks for the rest of the year. — VNA/VNS Photo

The Ministry of Home Affairs has announced that during the first six months of this year, more than 14,240 officials, civil servants and public employees have been recruited to promptly replace the number of those who resigned from 2020 to mid-2022.

The ministry held a conference on Friday to review its performance in the first half of this year and announce tasks for the rest of the year. The conference was attended by the leaders of the Departments of Home Affairs from 63 cities and provinces.

Vũ Đăng Minh, the ministry’s Chief of Office, stated that the ministry has issued a document requesting ministries, sectors, and localities to implement solutions to address the resignations and recruitment of new officials and civil servants to ensure the quality of staff.

"The resignation of officials, civil servants and public employees is ongoing. This issue needs to be reviewed to identify the real causes and find appropriate solutions," he emphasised.

Figures from the ministry showed that a total of 39,552 officials, civil servants, and public employees quit their jobs across Việt Nam between 2020 and June 2022.

This number accounted for nearly 2 per cent of the total number of long-term staff at these agencies.

Among them, more than 16,000 worked in the education sector and 12,000 in healthcare.

The resignations, according to the ministry, were due to stressful tasks and low income. Competition from the private sector which brought better paid while the working environment and conditions in the public sector, which limited the improvement of public employees’ capacity and skills, were also attributed as reasons.

Reports from central agencies and authorities in 63 cities and provinces showed that localities have actively developed plans to streamline State agencies and downsize public staff while improving the quality of personnel.

In the field of personnel management, the ministry has focused on studying and proposing amendments to the legal documents related to the management and utilisation of officials and civil servants; proposing to eliminate the examination for professional title promotion of civil servants; delegating authority to organise exams for civil service rank advancement and professional title promotion and implementing regulations on quality assessment of civil service entrance exams.

Notably, the reports showed that 395 officials and civil servants have been disciplined during the first six months of the year.

The ministry has provided guidance to ministries, sectors, and localities to strictly implement the Party's regulations and the State's laws regarding disciplinary actions against officials, civil servants, and public employees and the timely replacement of officials with limited capabilities.

The reports also revealed that by the end of this June, 96 ministries, sectors, and localities have completed the data connection with the Database of Officials and Civil Servants.

The ministry has submitted a decree to the Government stipulating the basic salary for officials, civil servants, and armed forces personnel. The basic salary would be increased from VNĐ1.49 million per month to VNĐ1.8 million per month.

Additionally, the ministry would issue guidelines on implementing the basic salary for individuals receiving salaries and allowances in public agencies and public units.

The ministry has also identified some existing limitations. The rearrangement and restructuring of public units have been mostly carried out through mergers and acquisitions, leading to insignificant changes in operational mechanisms and service quality.

The number of individuals receiving salaries from the State budget or from revenue sources of public agencies has not been properly adjusted to align with the capacity of regular self-financing of the units.

According to the reports, heads of some agencies and units remained indecisive in the implementation of tasks. There was also a tendency among officials and civil servants to avoid responsibilities and hesitate to provide advice and proposals, resulting in delays in work progress.

The digital transformation in some agencies and units has not received adequate attention, it said.

Speaking at the conference, Minister of Home Affairs Phạm Thị Thanh Trà suggested that representatives of the Departments of Home Affairs in localities focus on analysing and evaluating the results of the first six months of the year, highlighting achievements, as well as identifying limitations and obstacles to clarify the causes and propose solutions to overcome them.

The delegates were encouraged to make recommendations and proposals to enhance the effectiveness of State management, she said. — VNS