Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada has said the treasury is not in such depleted state that voluntary retirement of the government staffers should be stopped.
Talking to office-bearers of the official trade union at the Finance Ministry on Thursday, Khatiwada clarified that the government has enough money to pay the staffers opting for voluntary retirement.
"It would have been better if there were serious discussion as to whether the staffers should be given an option of voluntary retirement at a time when there is shortage of staffers at the provincial and local levels. But I am not in favor of stopping voluntary retirement," chairman of the union Punya Prasad Dhakal quoted Khatiwada as saying. "And voluntary retirement is not being stopped due to lack of money."
Federal Affairs and General Administration Minister Lal Babu Pandit has been arguing that the country cannot bear the financial burden of paying off the staffers opting for voluntary retirement.
Minister Khatiwada said that there will be serious discussion on the issue of voluntary retirement once Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli returns back from India visit.
Staffers who have served for more than 20 years and are above 50 years in age have opted for voluntary retirement as per the government offer to those who do not want to be deputed at the provincial and local levels. The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration has not even published the list of 9,656 staffers who have opted for voluntary retirement.
The trade union had started deliberations with different bodies to discuss whether the government can bear the financial burden of paying off the staffers opting for voluntary retirement after Finance Minister Khatiwada issuing a white paper on the economy in the parliament a few days back claimed that the treasury is almost empty.
