'Lifetime employment' is now only applicable in 3 cases.

The National Assembly has officially passed the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants and the Law on Public Employees. A notable point is that there will no longer be lifetime tenure for public employees, as has been the practice for a long time.

This regulation was introduced with the hope of rectifying inertia and reluctance to innovate, and improving the quality of civil servants by paying salaries according to job position, eliminating the mindset that getting a job in a state agency guarantees a secure position for life.

Illustration photo: Phu Huong

For a long time, we have often talked about a cumbersome and inefficient administrative apparatus that makes it increasingly difficult for the state budget to pay its bills. What is the reason for this? For a long time, we have been carrying out a downsizing campaign, but the result is that "the more we try to streamline the apparatus, the bigger it gets" because many people are still only concerned with personal and group interests, without caring about the bigger picture.

They actively recruit and bring incompetent and unqualified personnel into the system. Once inside the state apparatus, many of these individuals abuse their power and influence, constantly creating difficulties and obstacles for citizens and businesses in the performance of their duties, further tarnishing the image of public officials and civil servants.

Not to mention, many officials, recruited decades ago, are stagnant, lazy, only concerned with demanding privileges, and often even oppose and hinder development. They are the boulders that need to be removed from the system so that the flow of work can be unimpeded.

Abolishing lifetime tenure is considered a necessary measure at this time. Economic resources cannot afford to keep a train that's too long and cumbersome. The most obvious example is that every salary increase is a headache for managers, yet it's like "a drop in the ocean." But who dares to cut off their own foot when so many officials, despite being children of influential people, are incompetent?

Many people hope that the regulation abolishing lifetime tenure will also apply to civil servants, especially those in leadership positions. To ensure that truly talented individuals take on management roles, leadership positions in administrative and public service units should be filled through open competitive examinations, rather than through appointments as is currently the case. Civil servants who are incompetent should be dismissed; there shouldn't be a system of constant promotions without demotions, and then repeated promotions if they fail to perform.

From now until July 1st, 2020, there is still a considerable amount of time for some individuals and organizations to take advantage of accelerated recruitment to circumvent regulations and enjoy lifetime civil servant status. To prevent this situation, individuals and units assigned the task must strengthen inspection and supervision, and ensure transparency in recruitment.

Abolishing lifetime tenure and replacing it with salary-based pay according to position and job quality is expected to encourage efficient work and retain talent. This new approach will bring joy to truly capable individuals and provide an opportunity to remove incompetent and opportunistic individuals from the system. Only then can we hope for effective reform of the public administration system and a truly conducive socio-economic environment for businesses and citizens to thrive.

According to the recently passed Civil Servant Law, the two types of employment contracts remain unchanged: indefinite-term and fixed-term.

However, indefinite-term contracts or "lifetime employment" are now only applicable in the following three cases:

- Officials recruited before July 1, 2020;

- Officials and civil servants are converted into public employees;

- Individuals recruited to work as civil servants in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions.

At the same time, all newly recruited civil servants from July 1, 2020, must sign fixed-term employment contracts with a duration of 12 to 60 months.