Government Bill to Mandate Retirement at 55 or 30 Years Service to Impact Health Sector

Kathmandu. The new draft of the Civil Service Bill, which the government has advanced to mandate retirement for employees who complete 55 years of age or 30 years of service, is likely to have a significant impact on the health service sector.

If this provision is implemented, approximately one thousand employees in the health service group could be affected. Employees in the health sector fall under the Nepal Health Service Group.

According to the updated data provided by the National Library (Civil Service), the total number of employees in the health service who have already reached the age of over 55 is 486, while the number of employees who have completed more than 30 years of service has reached 498.

The draft, prepared by the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration and currently at the Ministry of Law after the consent of the Ministry of Finance, is expected to directly affect doctors, nursing staff, and technical employees in the health service. According to the updated data from the Civil Service Library, if this bill is enacted into law, a large number of employees who have been working in the health sector for a long time will be phased out.

Analyzing the data of health service employees from the Civil Service Library, it appears that the new provision, if implemented, will have a widespread impact on both the leadership and lower levels of the health sector. The number of health service employees who have completed both criteria of being over 55 years of age and having more than 30 years of service is 273. Categorically, there is 1 employee in the special category, 2 in the officer 12th level, 23 in the officer 11th level, and 2 in the officer 10th level who are over 55 years of age. Similarly, there are 10 employees in the officer 8th level, 2 in the 8th level, 2 in the officer 7th level, 3 in the 7th level, 204 in the officer 6th level, 13 in the 6th level, and 167 assistants who are over 55 years of age.

There are 498 employees who have completed more than 30 years of service. Among them, there is 1 in the special category, 9 in the officer 11th level, and 4 in the officer 10th level, and 2 in the 10th level. Similarly, there is 1 in the officer 9th level, 7 in the officer 8th level, 1 in the 8th level, 50 in the officer 7th level, 3 in the 7th level, 267 in the officer 6th level, 17 in the 6th level, and 136 assistants who have completed more than 30 years of service.

The number of employees who are over 55 years of age and have more than 30 years of service is 273. Among them, there is 1 in the special category, 8 in the officer 11th level, and 2 in the officer 10th level, and 2 in the 10th level. Similarly, there are 6 in the officer 8th level, 1 in the 8th level, 31 in the officer 7th level, 1 in the 7th level, 133 in the officer 6th level, 9 in the 6th level, and 79 assistants who are over 55 years of age and have more than 30 years of service.  

Public health experts say that if senior doctors and specialists in the special category, 11th, 10th, and 9th levels, who have decades of experience in the health sector, including in pandemics, complex surgeries, and policy making, are phased out simultaneously, there is an increasing risk that provincial and local hospitals will be deprived of specialist services.

Former Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Mahendra Prasad Shrestha, stated that the retirement age for health services should be extended to 65 years. He said, 'Health service is a technical subject. Health service cannot be compared with other services. The nature of health service is different. Doctors are already migrating abroad. The retirement age for health service should be made 65 years.'

Shrestha stated that a 55-year age limit is not justifiable, as it takes nearly 40 years for a doctor to become qualified.