11 Public Service Amendment Bill presentation to Workshop arranged by Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, National Assembly November 2006

22 CONTENT  Objectives of Amendment Bill Substantial amendments in Bill

3 OBJECTIVES OF AMENDMENT BILL (1)  Main purpose to strengthen organisational & human resource matters in public service  Legislation for a single public service dealing with 3 spheres of government underway – to be introduced in Parliament – latter part of 2007  Likely date of commencement of Single Public Service Act is 2009  Considered necessary to strengthen the Public Service Act urgently in some areas

4 OBJECTIVES OF AMENDMENT BILL (2)  Experience has shown that some organisational & human resource arrangements in Public Service Act directly hampers internal efficiency as well as service delivery. These areas include-  Inadequate provision for deployment of staff  Some functions provided through  departments & not close to service delivery point & without direct accountability & decision-making by functionaries tasked with delivery; or  entities outside public service without direct control by political head  Public Service Act prescripts often not adhered to, resulting in weak organisational and HR practices & legal disputes  Transgressing employees resign and join other departments without being disciplined  Employees dismissed for misconduct, even related to corruption, may be re-employed  Some provisions have resulted in legal disputes, while others are obsolete, overly complex or conflict with other legislation

55 OBJECTIVES OF AMENDMENT BILL (3)  To address mentioned areas:  Staff mobility arrangements are improved  Government agencies as new institutional form introduced within public service to enable direct service delivery through focused, ring-fenced separate entity under control of political head  Compliance enhanced through investigative powers & compulsory disciplining & reporting  Enabling institution of disciplinary steps for alleged transgressions in their former department  Enabling provision for prohibiting re-employment of persons dismissed for corrupt-related and other misconduct introduced  Ambiguities/conflicts/obsolete provisions removed

6 OBJECTIVES OF AMENDMENT BILL (4)  If Bill becomes law, it would together with required new regulations, improve efficiency of organisational & human resource framework by  Introducing new service delivery model  Introducing enforcement mechanisms  Simplifying & clarifying Public Service Act  These measures are designed to enhance governance, accountability & compliance which in turn would lead to improved service delivery

77 SUBSTANTIAL AMENDMENTS IN BILL (1)  Various definitions clarified & “employment practice” defined; “executing authority” replaced with “executive authority”  Minister for Public Service & Administration (MPSA) enabled to apply, after consultation with other Ministers in question, any condition of service to educators/members of SAPS/Dept of Correctional Services  Aim – to obtain, where desirable, greater alignment in conditions of service of general public service & mentioned sectors (cl 2)  Setting of norms & standards and other functions of MPSA clarified (cl 2)

88 SUBSTANTIAL AMENDMENTS IN BILL (2)  Collective agreements concluded iro employees falling under Public Service Act to be regarded as Ministerial determinations to facilitate implementation & compliance (cl 7)  To improve compliance with Public Service Act, MPSA empowered to conduct investigations & make binding decisions in event of contraventions  To avoid duplication, Public Service Commission is notified of investigations & their outcome (cl 7)

99 SUBSTANTIAL AMENDMENTS IN BILL (3)  New organisational form, government agencies, in place of current Schedule 3 organisational components, proposed (cls 9 & 10)  As supplementary organisational form within public service - enable direct service delivery via focused, full ring-fenced entity, under direct control of executive authority, e.g. a Minister or MEC  Based on proposals by National Treasury & dpsa following review of public entities  Accountability & responsibility vested in functionaries directly involved in performance of functions  Head of agency to report directly to relevant executive authority & head to be accounting officer of agency

10 SUBSTANTIAL AMENDMENTS IN BILL (4)  References in Public Service Act to promotion omitted to accord with open competition principle & to limit unfair labour practice disputes in this regard (e.g. cl 14)  President enabled to also deploy in consultation with relevant Premiers  national head to province  provincial head to another province or to national department [cls 5 & 17]

11 SUBSTANTIAL AMENDMENTS IN BILL (5)  Transfer & secondments of staff within and from public service  Clarified & simplified provisions  Provision for transfers and secondment  with employee’s consent  without employee’s consent but subject to due process (consider employee’s representations) & public interest requirement  Express provision for continued employment despite transfer within public service or to public service from another organ of state (cls 20, 21 & 22)

12 SUBSTANTIAL AMENDMENTS IN BILL (6)  In addition to investigative power for MPSA mentioned earlier, propose new measures to enhance compliance with Public Service Act  Compel  executive authorities to discipline transgressing heads of department  heads of department to discipline transgressing employees in their departments  These transgressions must be reported to MPSA who is to report at least annually to relevant committees of national & provincial legislatures (cl 24)

13 SUBSTANTIAL AMENDMENTS IN BILL (7)  Address current anomaly of head of department vested with power to dismiss employee for misconduct while chair of disciplinary hearing pronounces sanction ito disciplinary code  Since disciplinary hearing aims to ensure due process - propose that sanction imposed by chair of hearing must, subject to internal appeal (if any) be implemented by head of department (cls 24 & 25)  Provision made for institution/continuation of disciplinary hearing by new department iro alleged misconduct by employee at his/her former department (cl 24)  Grounds for dismissal aligned with those recognised under Labour Relations Act, i.e. misconduct, incapacity due to poor performance or ill health & operational requirements (new section 17(2) in cl 25)

14 SUBSTANTIAL AMENDMENTS IN BILL (8)  Abscondment provisions revised  Period of absence reduced from one calendar month to 10 days  Deemed resignation to exclude applicability of disciplinary procedures  However, provision for re-instatement retained (new section 17(3) in cl 25)  Similar provision for employee unable to perform ito contract for reasons other than poor performance/ill health  supervening impossibility such as long period of imprisonment (new section 17(5) in cl 25)  Prohibition on re-employment in public service for prescribed period of employee dismissed for misconduct, including conduct of corrupt nature (new section 17(4) in cl 25)

15 SUBSTANTIAL AMENDMENTS IN BILL (9)  Provisions regarding performance of outside remunerative work by employees clarified  Consider effect on functions & possible conflict of interest (cl 26)  Provision is made for-  heads of department to submit grievances directly to Public Service Commission  employees to first exhaust grievance procedure within department before referring labour disputes to bargaining council (cl 31 )  Provisions iro political rights of employees omitted – dealt with in Constitution & limitations in code of conduct (current section 36)  Candidatures of employees for legislatures are proposed to be regulated in Public Service Act (cl 32)

16 SUBSTANTIAL AMENDMENTS IN BILL (10)  Regulation-making powers aligned with areas that norms & standards may be determined & also simplified (cl 35)  Currently, Public Service Act only expressly authorises executive authority to delegate certain functions  Comprehensive provision for delegation of all functions vested by Act or regulations in-  executive authority  head of department (cl 37)

17 Siyabonga/Ri a livhuwa/ Re a leboga/Dankie/Thank you Siyabonga/Ri a livhuwa/ Re a leboga/Dankie/Thank you Contact persons: Adv Ailwei Mulaudzi, tel , Adv Empie van Schoor tel ,