Public agencies' employment should be fair, transparent
The government said Wednesday it has detected 182 suspected cases of grave hiring irregularities at more than 1,200 public institutions. The announcement came after a three-month inspection conducted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, jointly with the finance, interior and labor ministries.
Officials said they will request investigations into 36 cases and demand punishment or reprimands in the remaining 146. Up to 288 incumbent executives and employees at public institutions will be subject to investigations and disciplinary actions.
The detailed content of these irregularities is too messy to believe. An applicant got low grades in a document screening and written tests but received high marks in interviews just because he was the son of a sitting executive. A son of an incumbent CEO entered his father's company as a short-term contract worker, became an intern and was provided a regular position, all without undergoing proper procedures. Relatives of current employees passed exams although they had no relevant licenses or certificates.
It is hard to imagine how they were party to these unlawful acts at public agencies run using taxpayers' money. Violators have befooled and destroyed the dreams of numerous prospective young jobseekers who have toiled to enter these public companies for years. The related agencies and law enforcement authorities should punish these lawbreakers harshly. So far, these institutions have uncovered similar violators but let them get off lightly with just censures and warnings. This is hard to understand.
The government should amend related laws and regulations to make it impossible for violators to remain in their organizations. Employees also ought to watch out for possible irregularities within their agencies, because there are limitations to outsiders ferreting out irregularities committed in secrecy.
To eliminate hiring irregularities, the government should start by doing away with the parachuting of CEOs and executives into public institutions. Successive governments have tended to regard these agencies as political trophies and sent cronies of political bigwigs to key posts. Under this atmosphere, middle managers may feel tempted to fall into moral laxity. Only when the appointments of their heads and executives are made in a fair and transparent manner, will their employment-related discipline stand firm.
The government said Wednesday it has detected 182 suspected cases of grave hiring irregularities at more than 1,200 public institutions. The announcement came after a three-month inspection conducted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, jointly with the finance, interior and labor ministries.
Officials said they will request investigations into 36 cases and demand punishment or reprimands in the remaining 146. Up to 288 incumbent executives and employees at public institutions will be subject to investigations and disciplinary actions.
The detailed content of these irregularities is too messy to believe. An applicant got low grades in a document screening and written tests but received high marks in interviews just because he was the son of a sitting executive. A son of an incumbent CEO entered his father's company as a short-term contract worker, became an intern and was provided a regular position, all without undergoing proper procedures. Relatives of current employees passed exams although they had no relevant licenses or certificates.
It is hard to imagine how they were party to these unlawful acts at public agencies run using taxpayers' money. Violators have befooled and destroyed the dreams of numerous prospective young jobseekers who have toiled to enter these public companies for years. The related agencies and law enforcement authorities should punish these lawbreakers harshly. So far, these institutions have uncovered similar violators but let them get off lightly with just censures and warnings. This is hard to understand.
The government should amend related laws and regulations to make it impossible for violators to remain in their organizations. Employees also ought to watch out for possible irregularities within their agencies, because there are limitations to outsiders ferreting out irregularities committed in secrecy.
To eliminate hiring irregularities, the government should start by doing away with the parachuting of CEOs and executives into public institutions. Successive governments have tended to regard these agencies as political trophies and sent cronies of political bigwigs to key posts. Under this atmosphere, middle managers may feel tempted to fall into moral laxity. Only when the appointments of their heads and executives are made in a fair and transparent manner, will their employment-related discipline stand firm.
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