Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010
Kyodo News
Between 2007 and 2009, 1,757 active and former ranking bureaucrats found employment at organizations and companies that in fiscal 2008 received subsidies or business contracts from the government, the internal affairs ministry said Monday.
Ministries and other agencies will be required to examine whether those subsidies and contract awards, worth a combined ¥7.2 trillion, were used to fund the employment of the former bureaucrats or wasted on unnecessary projects, officials said.
A total of 1,676 officials landed jobs between 2007 and 2009 at entities administered by their former ministry or agency in the practice known as "amakudari," according to a probe conducted by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry starting in March.
The Democratic Party of Japan suspects ministries and agencies award contracts to businesses and other entities on condition that they give jobs to retired bureaucrats.
Government offices are due to inspect organizations that have hired former officials or received government funding totaling ¥5 million or more to find out whether they got business contracts in money-for-favor deals and wasted taxpayer money as a result. Their findings, to be reported to the internal affairs ministry, are to be taken into account in drawing up the fiscal 2011 budget.
Meanwhile, another internal affairs ministry survey points to yet more evidence of cozy amakudari ties between ex-bureaucrats and firms offering them lucrative positions.
Some 1,528 senior positions at government-linked organizations are being occupied by former government officials for at least the third successive time from the same ministry or agency, according to the ministry survey, which covered up to April 1.
Of the officials working at such government-affiliated organizations or other entities, whose work is subsidized by or carried out on behalf of the government, 4,916 were former government officials aged 65 or older.
The government intends to ban in principle the hiring of retired civil servants as senior officials of government-affiliated agencies and open up recruitment to the public.
Bodies that receive at least ¥5 million in taxpayer money annually will be called on not to fill their senior positions with ex-bureaucrats coming from the same ministries or agencies three times in succession.
The DPJ-led government is trying to eradicate amakudari, but experts say the party's efforts to ban job replacements won't get anywhere without fundamental changes in the civil servant system, in which only a limited number of top positions are available and officials who fail to advance have no choice but to take early retirement.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100824a5.html
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Having faith in Cambodia’s youths
The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 12 August 2010 15:01 Richard Bridle
Analysis
Richard Bridle
Today marks our celebration of both the annual International Youth Day and the launch of the International Year of Youth, under the theme “Dialogue and Mutual Understanding”.
The United Nations in Cambodia recognises the importance of Cambodia’s young people to the future of this country, and we welcome this spotlight on the needs and aspirations of one-third of Cambodia’s people.
It is our duty to listen to those voices and engage in that dialogue, to include Cambodia’s young people in the development process and in the future of their country.
The UN General Assembly defines youths as individuals aged between 15 and 24 years, and young people between 10 and 24 years of age. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, however, takes a broader view and defines youth as those between the ages of 14 and 30 years of age.
Cambodia’s population iof young people, proportionately one of the largest in Southeast Asia, presents significant opportunities, but it also presents tremendous challenges.
Despite recent rapid economic growth, there are simply not enough jobs for youths.
Unemployment among youths is higher than for any other age group. At the current pace of job creation, Cambodia will not have the capacity to place the increasing numbers of young people who are entering the workforce each year.
Currently estimated at 250,000-300,000 new entrants to the labour market each year, this number is expected to rise to 400,000 in the coming years.
The significant numbers of young people who find themselves unemployed or underemployed are all vulnerable to trafficking, entry into illegal sectors and use.
Rural poor who migrate to cities for work are more likely than others to be homeless and unemployed, and are more likely to turn to criminal behaviour or to migrate in search of employment as unskilled labourers.
We know that education is one of the best options to link youths with decent employment opportunities, but access to education at all levels in Cambodia continues to be unevenly distributed between urban and rural areas, as well as between rich and poor.
Additionally, poverty and economic shocks force many young people to leave school without acquiring the basic skills they need for work and for life. Only half of young people complete primary school, and only a quarter proceed to lower secondary school.
And it is important to note that school attendance alone is not a panacea. The quality and substance of their education is what will allow the young people of Cambodia to take their place in an increasingly competitive region.
Education will also enable the youth of Cambodia to make valuable contributions to their country’s development. Soon today’s youth will be Cambodia’s leaders, educators, businesspeople and farmers. If youths are to become an engine of growth for this country, much more needs to be done to ensure their meaningful participation in education, employment, development and governance.
The United Nations system in Cambodia works with youths to ensure that their voices are heard and that their needs and concerns are addressed in our work. The issues and concerns affecting youths are integrated into each area of the UN Development Assistance Framework 2011-2015, and this will continue to inform the work we undertake.
For example, in education, the UN in Cambodia is supporting government to: strengthen and implement policies and strategies for technical and vocational education and training; increase the quality of training programmes through developing skills standards, testing, accreditation and certification procedures; and increasing the evidence base for monitoring equitable access to quality basic education.
The UN Youth Advisory Panel, the first of its kind in the world, gives youths an opportunity to become more informed about development, the United Nations, and our ongoing commitment to the issues that affect young people. And it also serves to remind us of the importance of youths to development.
The Situation Analysis of Youth in Cambodia, published by the UN in Cambodia in October 2009, laid the groundwork for future work in this area, and the findings of this study contributed to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport’s crucial work on the National Youth Policy.
Cambodia’s youths are the most affected sector of society in terms of coping with rapid economic growth and social change, but they are also the most resilient and adaptable segment of the population.
The UN in Cambodia will continue to work with young people as they strive to create a better future for themselves, for their families and for their country.
Richard Bridle is acting UN resident coordinator for Camboadia.
Thursday, 12 August 2010 15:01 Richard Bridle
Analysis
Richard Bridle
Today marks our celebration of both the annual International Youth Day and the launch of the International Year of Youth, under the theme “Dialogue and Mutual Understanding”.
The United Nations in Cambodia recognises the importance of Cambodia’s young people to the future of this country, and we welcome this spotlight on the needs and aspirations of one-third of Cambodia’s people.
It is our duty to listen to those voices and engage in that dialogue, to include Cambodia’s young people in the development process and in the future of their country.
The UN General Assembly defines youths as individuals aged between 15 and 24 years, and young people between 10 and 24 years of age. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, however, takes a broader view and defines youth as those between the ages of 14 and 30 years of age.
Cambodia’s population iof young people, proportionately one of the largest in Southeast Asia, presents significant opportunities, but it also presents tremendous challenges.
Despite recent rapid economic growth, there are simply not enough jobs for youths.
Unemployment among youths is higher than for any other age group. At the current pace of job creation, Cambodia will not have the capacity to place the increasing numbers of young people who are entering the workforce each year.
Currently estimated at 250,000-300,000 new entrants to the labour market each year, this number is expected to rise to 400,000 in the coming years.
The significant numbers of young people who find themselves unemployed or underemployed are all vulnerable to trafficking, entry into illegal sectors and use.
Rural poor who migrate to cities for work are more likely than others to be homeless and unemployed, and are more likely to turn to criminal behaviour or to migrate in search of employment as unskilled labourers.
We know that education is one of the best options to link youths with decent employment opportunities, but access to education at all levels in Cambodia continues to be unevenly distributed between urban and rural areas, as well as between rich and poor.
Additionally, poverty and economic shocks force many young people to leave school without acquiring the basic skills they need for work and for life. Only half of young people complete primary school, and only a quarter proceed to lower secondary school.
And it is important to note that school attendance alone is not a panacea. The quality and substance of their education is what will allow the young people of Cambodia to take their place in an increasingly competitive region.
Education will also enable the youth of Cambodia to make valuable contributions to their country’s development. Soon today’s youth will be Cambodia’s leaders, educators, businesspeople and farmers. If youths are to become an engine of growth for this country, much more needs to be done to ensure their meaningful participation in education, employment, development and governance.
The United Nations system in Cambodia works with youths to ensure that their voices are heard and that their needs and concerns are addressed in our work. The issues and concerns affecting youths are integrated into each area of the UN Development Assistance Framework 2011-2015, and this will continue to inform the work we undertake.
For example, in education, the UN in Cambodia is supporting government to: strengthen and implement policies and strategies for technical and vocational education and training; increase the quality of training programmes through developing skills standards, testing, accreditation and certification procedures; and increasing the evidence base for monitoring equitable access to quality basic education.
The UN Youth Advisory Panel, the first of its kind in the world, gives youths an opportunity to become more informed about development, the United Nations, and our ongoing commitment to the issues that affect young people. And it also serves to remind us of the importance of youths to development.
The Situation Analysis of Youth in Cambodia, published by the UN in Cambodia in October 2009, laid the groundwork for future work in this area, and the findings of this study contributed to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport’s crucial work on the National Youth Policy.
Cambodia’s youths are the most affected sector of society in terms of coping with rapid economic growth and social change, but they are also the most resilient and adaptable segment of the population.
The UN in Cambodia will continue to work with young people as they strive to create a better future for themselves, for their families and for their country.
Richard Bridle is acting UN resident coordinator for Camboadia.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Older civil servants facing pay cut
Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2010
Kyodo News
The National Personnel Authority on Tuesday proposed cutting the salaries and annual bonuses of national civil servants for the second year in a row.
The personnel board proposed that the reductions focus on workers in their late 50s while keeping intact wages of young employees to forestall declines in their morale and in interest in public-sector jobs among new recruits.
In its recommendation to the Cabinet and the Diet, the board proposed an average cut of 1.5 percent, or ¥94,000, in the annual salaries of public servants for the year to next March 31, bringing them in line with the private sector.
The authority recommended that annual bonuses be cut to 3.95 months worth of salary from 4.15 months, the first time in 47 years that the amount would fall below the four-month level, as the private sector reduced bonuses last winter amid the economic slump.
If the proposals are adopted, the annual income of a 40-year-old section chief who is married with two children would come to ¥5.13 million and that of a vice minister, the top bureaucrat in a ministry, to ¥22.77 million.
The government will decide on the recommendations at a meeting of related Cabinet members and seek a legal revision during this autumn's extraordinary Diet session to put the approved proposals into practice.
But the Democratic Party of Japan may call for larger pay cuts than recommended. It has pledged to reduce central government personnel expenditures by 20 percent.
According to the authority, the monthly salaries of public servants are ¥757, or 0.19 percent, higher on average than those in the private sector because of an increase in older, highly paid bureaucrats. Many of them have stayed in the government sector longer as a result of efforts to curb arranging postretirement positions for them in the private sector.
The authority proposed maintaining the salaries of public servants in their 30s and younger because they are lower than those of their private-sector counterparts.
In contrast, it proposed cutting the salaries of officials aged 40 and older by an average of 0.1 percent and imposing an additional cut of 1.5 percent in principle on the salaries of those who will be 56 or older in fiscal 2010.
The personnel authority makes recommendations on salary and bonuses for government-sector workers to bring them in line with those offered in the private sector. Such recommendations are made because government workers are denied the right to strike and have limited basic labor rights.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20100811a3.html
Kyodo News
The National Personnel Authority on Tuesday proposed cutting the salaries and annual bonuses of national civil servants for the second year in a row.
The personnel board proposed that the reductions focus on workers in their late 50s while keeping intact wages of young employees to forestall declines in their morale and in interest in public-sector jobs among new recruits.
In its recommendation to the Cabinet and the Diet, the board proposed an average cut of 1.5 percent, or ¥94,000, in the annual salaries of public servants for the year to next March 31, bringing them in line with the private sector.
The authority recommended that annual bonuses be cut to 3.95 months worth of salary from 4.15 months, the first time in 47 years that the amount would fall below the four-month level, as the private sector reduced bonuses last winter amid the economic slump.
If the proposals are adopted, the annual income of a 40-year-old section chief who is married with two children would come to ¥5.13 million and that of a vice minister, the top bureaucrat in a ministry, to ¥22.77 million.
The government will decide on the recommendations at a meeting of related Cabinet members and seek a legal revision during this autumn's extraordinary Diet session to put the approved proposals into practice.
But the Democratic Party of Japan may call for larger pay cuts than recommended. It has pledged to reduce central government personnel expenditures by 20 percent.
According to the authority, the monthly salaries of public servants are ¥757, or 0.19 percent, higher on average than those in the private sector because of an increase in older, highly paid bureaucrats. Many of them have stayed in the government sector longer as a result of efforts to curb arranging postretirement positions for them in the private sector.
The authority proposed maintaining the salaries of public servants in their 30s and younger because they are lower than those of their private-sector counterparts.
In contrast, it proposed cutting the salaries of officials aged 40 and older by an average of 0.1 percent and imposing an additional cut of 1.5 percent in principle on the salaries of those who will be 56 or older in fiscal 2010.
The personnel authority makes recommendations on salary and bonuses for government-sector workers to bring them in line with those offered in the private sector. Such recommendations are made because government workers are denied the right to strike and have limited basic labor rights.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20100811a3.html
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