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by U. D. J. Jinadasa

The decision of the government to grant the option of retirement to 300,000 of its cadre has received mixed reactions from trade union circles. By this generous offer made under the budget proposals for the oncoming year the retirees will enjoy the benefit of drawing their salaries until they reach fifty-five years and thereafter entitled to their normal pensions.

This offer is sugar coated by the grant of one year's salary in advance. The success of this grand retirement scheme depends upon the response of the individual members of the public service.

This unprecedented lavish offer creates a rare opportunity for ambitious state employees categorized under the scheme to embark on new ventures or seek new careers while at the same time the government is clearing its way to purge the redundant staff - may be as a prelude to the much talked of public service reforms.

None can deny that the 750,000 member public service in this country is overstaffed.

Its growth was accelerated during the past two decades in particular due to the increase of the cadre in various ministries and departments at the whims of politicians.

These state institutions became the dumping grounds for the "bad rubbish" the government intends to get rid of now. A major segment of the excess cadre is inexperienced, cheeky and temperamentally unsuitable to serve the public.

The excess 'fat' in the public service has made it clumsy, indolent and lethargic.

The public service has virtually fallen into a deep abyss. The minimum courtesy of attending to public correspondence promptly, which the public rightfully deserves, has vanished and instead bribery and corruption had taken root.

However, casting off the excess cadres through a scheme of voluntary retirement will be a sound proposition provided satisfactory avenues are opened to keep the relatively young employable retirees occupied; as otherwise another 300,000 will enter the unproductive segment of the population.

The country is already burdened with a retire population of 400,000 and the taxpayer will be made to shoulder an additional bill to maintain three lakhs of additional able bodied men and women if there are no plans to keep them gainfully occupied.

Keeping the employable idle will not only be counter productive but it can also lead to many social problems. One cannot forget the hackneyed aphorism that "an idle mind is a devil's workshop." Money alone will never satisfy the avarice of man.

In a country where unemployment is high and a vast majority of school leavers fail to secure satisfactory jobs it is indeed a difficult task for more mature retirees to secure employment in the private sector.

Granted that the retirees under the proposed scheme have the initial capital to invest in profitable ventures it is open to question whether their is a significant number among them who are courageous enough to take risks.

That apart, many public servants are indebted to the hilt. The sum they receive as a grant equivalent to one year's salary would hardly be sufficient to invest in profitable ventures.

From an employee's point of view these are some of the problems that may confront them if they take advantage of the retirement proposal.

Many public servants even when they reach the retirement age are not sure of their future retirement plans. In fact only a few have such plans for a comfortable retired life. The government too has not made any satisfactory provision for the elderly such as social insurance although rhetoric of elders' welfare are often heard from many quarters.

The pensions paid to government pensioners are not "index related", in the sense that they remain static despite the steep rise of the cost of living.

In fact, from the woeful appeals that appear in the press, the monthly pension payment of some of the older retirees who have held staff positions in the public service is less than the wage paid to a domestic at present in a middle class household. In such a scenario the deep rooted fear in the hearts of some public servants to enter into a quiet retired life is justifiable.

In the circumstances the proposed pre-mature voluntary retirement scheme has little encouragement to the average lower grade public servant.

The payment of a salary alone is not an adequate for the unskilled grades to retire prematurely. It is true that the pension rights of those who take advantage of this offer will be reserved; but on what basis it would be computed on reaching fifty-five years is not clear.

Under normal circumstances a person retiring at the age of sixty years is entitled to a higher pension than that a person retiring at a younger age on a lower salary point. They are some of the disincentives that would militate against this ambitious retirement programme.

There is a lurking fear among many trade union leaders that the anticipated exodus may create a vacuum in the public service leading to an erosion of efficiency. Obviously the government has targeted the unskilled and clerical grades for retirement under the proposed scheme.

In advanced countries where dignity of labour is respected such grades as peons and office labourers are non existent in their office cadres. It is not a mean job to sweep their own offices or carry the mail which many Sri Lankans do in a foreign country without raising an eye brow. It is unfortunate that they are considered menial jobs by the Sri Lankan society.

Many public servants appeal for extensions of their services even after they reach the optional age of retirement which mean that they yearn to be in the public service longer. That may be due to the pompous glory they enjoy being a public servant.

On the other hand a public servant having enjoyed an active life for many years shows a dislike to enter a melancholy retired life, for in our society welfare facilities for the retirees are not adequately provided.

If by this mass retirement scheme the government intends to improve the efficiency in the public service it would be nothing but a dream, because inefficiency is deep rooted in the managerial grades too. Inefficiency breeds bribery and corruption.

It could not have spread to such an irreversible level if the management sector in the public service had maintained its vigil and supervision over their subordinates. It is no secret that the minor grades in the public service has become the hotbed for bribery and corruption.

And this sordid situation will continue to grow unless the managerial grades drop their supine attitude.

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