The announcement that the government intends to convert civil servants, who now hold permanent office, to temporary service under short term contracts should not be unchallenged.
The Constitution, by Article 110, guarantees the tenure of all civil servants requiring that no civil servant shall be dismissed ........ without being given a reasonable opportunity of being heard. Under the law, dismissal must be dismissal for cause shown. The cause must be in the civil servant, e.g. misconduct.
The present exercise is for dismissal of the civil servants from their permanent service without any cause shown. They then lose the guarantee provided under the Constitution.
Will the civil service unions take this matter up?
The PAP government's decision is in flagrant violation of the Constitution.
signed
J B Jeyaretnam
28th October 2003
