When Sun Yat-Sen founded the Republic of China (ROC), China already had in place an excellent civil servant selection system that was both fair and impartial. This independent institution was thus given supreme authority over one of the five branches of government created at that time.
According to the ROC Constitution, the Examination Yuan is the state's highest agency responsible for civil service examinations. Its constitutional powers have been set forth in the Organization Act of the Examination Yuan, and under its administrative auspices reside the Ministry of Examination, the Ministry of Civil Service, the Civil Service Protection and Training Commission and the Supervisory Board for the Public Service Pension Fund.
Organization and Authority
The Nationalist government on January 6, 1930 formally established the Ministry of Civil Service (MOCS) in Nanjing pursuant to the Organization Act of the Ministry of Civil Service promulgated on December 17, 1928. Thereafter, the Ministry was relocated a total of nine times before being moved to its present location in the Gouzikou area of Muja District in Taipei City on December 1, 1951.
In accordance with Article 6, Paragraph 1 of the Amendment of the ROC Constitution, the Personnel Management Act, and the Organization Act of the Ministry of Civil Service, the MOCS is responsible for the employment, performance evaluation, scale of rank and salaries, promotion and transfer, and rewards and incentives as stipulated by law. The MOCS is also responsible for administrative matters related to civil servant qualifications screening, insurance, retirement, survivor relief and the personnel departments of various government agencies.
The MOCS is headed by the Minister of Civil Service and is assisted in his ministerial duties by one Political Vice Minister and one Administrative Vice Minister. The MOCS is organized into six departments: Department of Personnel Planning and Regulations, Department of General Qualification Screening, Department of Special Qualification Screening, Department of Retirement and Survivor Relief, Department of Personnel Management and Department of General Affairs; seven offices: Counselors Office, Secretariat, Information Management Office, Personnel Office, Accounting Office, Statistics Office and Ethics Office; and two standing committees: the Legal Affairs Committee and the Petitions and Appeals Committee.
In addition to these agencies, the Management Board of the Public Service Pension Fund was formed pursuant to the Public Service Pension Fund Management Act, whereas the Supervisory Committee on Insurance for Public Servants and Teachers has been established pursuant to Article 4 of the Public Servants and Teachers Insurance Act. Both Funds are administered by the MOCS and are concurrently chaired by the Minister.
With regard to personnel quotas stipulated by law, the MOCS employs between 311 to 359 full-time personnel, while the Management Board of the Public Service Pension Fund employs 88 people, although the actual numbers differ from year to in line with the annual budget. The Supervisory Committee on Insurance for Public Servants and Teachers employs between 12~16 people who are representative members drawn from various stakeholder agencies. The separate responsibilities of the Ministry’s five professional departments, the Management Board of the Public Service Pension Fund and the Supervisory Committee on Insurance for Public Servants and Teachers are described below:
The Department of Personnel Planning and Regulations is responsible for the overall planning of policies, management system and laws and regulations related to government personnel. It is also responsible for reviewing the constituent laws of various government agencies, managing official travel and personnel leave and so forth.
The Department of General Qualification Screening is responsible for qualification screening and review of civil servants and medical personnel in regard to employment and dismissal, promotion and demotions, transfers, scale of rank and pay, and performance evaluation. It is also responsible for drafting and interpreting laws related to civil service scale of rank and pay, promotions and transfers, rewards and incentives and so forth.
The Department of Special Qualification Screening is responsible for qualification screening and review of personnel for special areas of government activity, including the judiciary, customs, ethics committees, diplomacy, budgetary administration and auditing units, essential services such as the police force, fire brigades, and coastal patrol forces, and state-owned enterprises with regard to employment and dismissal, promotion and demotion, transfer, scale of rank and pay, and performance evaluation.
The Department of Retirement and Survivor Relief is responsible for teacher and civil servant insurance, pension payments, survivor relief and other benefits, as well as political appointee retirement and survivor relief.
The Department of Personnel Management is responsible for auditing related to the employment and dismissal, promotion and demotion, transfers and reassignments, scale of rank and pay, performance evaluation, work assignment and so on of personnel managers. It also vested with responsibilities regarding civil servant data verification and registration and matters related to civil service associations.
The Management Board of the Public Service Pension Fund is responsible for collection and disbursements, management and use of the Public Service Pension Fund.
The Supervisory Committee on Insurance for Public Servants and Teachers is responsible for the oversight of all matters related to the Public Servant and Teacher Insurance program.
Core Activities
Reform of the Government’s Personnel Management System
The legal framework for civil service personnel and the employment by government agencies are intricately related. Thus, the legal framework must meet both present and future development needs and be adjusted from time to time. In light of this, in recent years the MOCS has actively sought to renew the legal framework for civil service personnel. The Civil Servant Association Act and the Political Appointee Termination and Survivor Relief Act have already been passed by the legislature and implemented, and a series of new statutes and regulations are in the works, including the Civil Service Fundamental Act, the Civil Servant Administrative Neutrality Act, the Political Appointee Act and Political Appointee Salary Act. Several other existing personnel laws have also been substantially amended: the Civil Service Employment Act, the Civil Service Performance Evaluation Act, the Civil Service Pay Act, the Civil Service Promotion Act, the Medical Personnel Management Act, and the Civil Service Work Act.
To further coordinate with government reform efforts and establish a more flexible employment system, the Ministry was also involved in deliberations over the Government Manpower Flexibility Plan announced by the Presidential Office on 15 September 2002. The plan includes proposals to increase the scope and utility of political appointee positions within the civil service, enhance the employment options for senior administrators, and bring the employment contract system into a uniform process to enhance the efficiency of government administration.
Review Constituent Laws and Regulations of Government Agencies
According to the Civil Service Employment Act and the Organization Act of the Ministry of Civil Service, the Examination Yuan is responsible for establishing a comprehensive list of positions and their requisite qualifications, while each government agency is vested with the responsibility of matching positions with qualifications. When necessary, the MOCS may determine such positions and their requisite qualifications after conferring with the agencies concerned, which is then referred to the Executive Yuan for final approval. Accordingly, the MOCS refers to each agency's duties, nature of work, and the level of said agency when reviewing titles, ranks, grades and ratio of each ranking as stipulated in each agency's organization acts and regulations. Post duties as stipulated in the organization acts of each agency shall be set in accordance with post responsibilities as established in said organization acts. Suitable work assignments shall be given to posts according to those set for such grade as listed in the grade guide.
Civil Servant Qualification Review
To determine appropriate salary and rank for appointments and transfers, civil servant credentials must be submitted to the MOCS for review. In the process of conducting reviews, the MOCS strives to be fair, impartial, prompt and accurate, and within the bounds of legality, making every effort to uphold the interests of the civil servants concerned.
Government employees subject to the MOCS review process include all general civil servants, public school personnel, medical personnel, judiciary personnel, customs officials, ethics personnel, diplomatic personnel, public auditors and accountants, personnel officers, police officers, fire fighters, coast guard personnel, and public transport personnel.
Performance Rewards and Discipline
Pursuant to the Civil Servant Performance Evaluation Act, all civil servants must participate in an annual performance evaluation within their particular government agency. This process commences at the end of the year for employees who have been in the same position for a period of 12 full months. Employees who have only been in the same position between 6-12 months shall be reviewed separately. Considerable importance is attached to the evaluation process, and civil servants are awarded two merit or demerit points for each individual workplace achievement or transgression that is recorded. Once completed by the government agency concerned, individual evaluation cases and recommendations for service awards are submitted to the Ministry of Civil Service for review and record. Agencies that choose to discipline an employee after a mandated committee hearing must register the details of how the committee’s decision was implemented with the MOCS. In cases of exemplary service, individual government agencies are free to publicly commend or reward employees through programs including the Extraordinary Contribution Medal and the Model Civil Servant Award to encourage similar efforts.
A series of laws and regulations carefully guide the MOCS’s role in overseeing the performance evaluation and awards processes of various government agencies. In addition to the Civil Service Performance Evaluation Act, some of the important legal guidelines include the Regulations for Inspiration of Civil Servant’s Morality, Self-cultivation and Work Potential, the Regulations for Awarding Personnel Professional Medals, among others.
Civil Servant and Teacher Insurance Program Benefits
The Ministry is the competent authority for the administration of the insurance program covering government employees, while the Central Trust of China is the insuring agency. The various medical insurance programs that covered civil servants in the past were subsumed within the National Health Insurance Program when it was introduced on 1 March 1995. More recently, to streamline the various insurance programs run by the government and to increase efficiency in the civil service generally, the Ministry created the Public Servant and Teacher Insurance Program. This integrated the various government insurance programs and, further, brought staff at private schools into the unified scheme. The new insurance program includes coverage for permanent disability, old age care, death and funeral arrangements, ensuring adequate care and compensation in the event of misfortune or retirement.
Protection of the rights, interests and welfare of civil servants are the key responsibilities of the MOCS, and in light of this, keeping civil servant benefits and assistance measures up-to-date with changes in the social and economic environment is imperative. The Ministry has put considerable effort into creating a flexible and appropriate framework of welfare benefits for civil servants, and has already introduced a number of measures including living allowances, loan payment relief and housing subsidies. The goal, in concert with the Central Personnel Administration of the Executive Yuan, is to establish a comprehensive, integrated benefits system for all civil servants.
Entitlements for Retiring Civil Servants
According to the Civil Servant Employment Act, if incumbent civil servants have been employed for more than 25 years, or over 5 years and are more than 60 years old, they may apply for voluntary retirement. Civil servants may be subject to compulsory retirement if they have been employed for over 5 years and are more than 65 years old, or if they have served for more than 5 years and are suffering from poor physical or mental health. Retirement cases within the various government agencies are referred to the MOCS for review and approval.
Taiwan’s contemporary civil service retirement benefits scheme was established on July 1, 1995. Under the preexisting scheme, the entire burden for retirement fund contributions resided with the government, but under the present system, the financial burden is shared between the government and individual employees. When first established, the contribution rate was 8 percent of twice the base salary, but this was adjusted to 8.8 percent in January 2002, and further increased to 9.8 percent in January 2004, and again to 10.8 percent in January 2005. The contribution rate is scheduled to increase to 12 percent in January 2006. Under current arrangements, the government contributes 65 percent of total funds, while individual civil servants contribute 35 percent.
The provision of benefits upon retirement is subject to a number of legal guidelines: those civil servants who have been employed between five to 15 years are given a one-time, lump-sum payment upon retirement, while those who have been employed for more than 15 years can choose one of three options. These include a lump sum payment, a monthly retirement pension, or some combination of the two alternatives. The MOCS is committed to keeping the civil service retirement scheme up-to-date and financially secure, and to upholding the integrity of individual employee entitlements.
Entitlements for Retiring Political Appointees
The current severance entitlement scheme for political appointees was established on 1 January 2004. Monthly deposits into the scheme amount to 12 percent of individual salaries, with the government contributing 65 percent, and political appointees, 35 percent. The accumulated savings are retained in a separate account, and paid to the appointee or next of kin if they retire or pass away while in office; the MOCS does not have to review or approve these actions. However, if the political appointees concerned were not former government employees (e.g. armed forces personal, civil servants, teachers, staff at government enterprises, etc.) then the aforementioned entitlement rule does not apply. The only exception to this is if the appointee is incapacitated or dies on the job.
The calculation of benefits for retiring political appointees whose tenure straddles the introduction of the severance scheme on January 1, 2004 will be different for the amount of seniority accumulated before and after that date. For the period from January 1, 2004, the new Political Appointee Termination and Survivor Relief Act shall apply, while for the period prior to January 1, 2004, the preexisting Political Appointee Termination Pay Act shall apply. Retiring political appointees who have been in office for less than 15 years are given a lump-sum retirement payment, while those who have been in office for more than 15 years can choose one of three options. These include a lump sum payment, a monthly pension, or some combination of the two alternatives.
Manage the Public Service Pension Fund
The operation of the Public Service Pension Fund intimately affects the welfare of military, civil service and teaching personnel and is a critical test of the country’s overall pension facilities. Based on nine years of research and experience, the MOCS recently completed revisions to the Public Service Pension Fund Management Act, which establishes the nature and operation of the Fund, and looks after the rights and interests of Fund contributors. Up to July 2004 participating agencies and schools had reached 7,700, and individuals, 600,000. Total Fund assets stood at NT 240 billion dollars.
Since the completion of designated management for the pension fund on 16 July 2001, the MOCS, as the managing agency, has allocated funds to the value of NT 65 billion to 15 different investment firms. On 15 December 2003, the MOCS also authorized overseas investment totaling USD 500 million via five international asset management companies. By distributing pension money to these various institutions, the MOCS aims to disperse Fund risk, increase Fund profitability, promote and stabilize the local capital market, and help facilitate Taiwan’s emergence as a regional center for asset management. The MOCS’s management of the Fund involves many objectives: investment safety, profitability, coherence with related government financial policies, and making a contribution to the stable development of the national economy.
To accomplish reform goals and realize expected benefits, the MOCS delegates responsibility for the effective management and utilization of the Fund to the Management Board of Public Service Pension Fund Committee, whose mission is to provide the best, concern-free services for public servants by enhancing overall service quality and raising administrative efficiency.
Establishment and Administration of Personnel Management Organizations
According to the Organization Act of the Ministry of Civil Service and the Personnel Management Act, the MOCS is authorized to establish and administer the personnel departments of various government agencies. The MOCS also maintains powers to employ, dismiss and transfer the employees of these personnel departments. The Central Personnel Administration of the Executive Yuan and the various agencies directly under its control are exceptions to this line of authority. The decisions and actions taken by the Central Personnel Administration and its subordinate agencies are simply registered with the MOCS after the fact.
Advance the Use of Information Technology in Personnel Management
The MOCS is dedicated to advancing the use of information technology in personnel management, and has been working with the Central Personnel Administration of the Executive Yuan to develop the Civil Servant and Teacher Management Information System. The promotion of the system nationwide will provide a solid foundation for the professional use of IT in government personnel management. As part of this, and to increase the quality and efficiency of personnel management, the MOCS has successfully developed and implemented a Windows-based intranet system that brings into one network such work processes as employment evaluation, the allocation of retirement benefits and service awards, the registration of contract workers as well as organizational matters. Moreover, to promote job simplification and information sharing, the Ministry has developed a series of new data systems, including a qualification network search system, an automated qualification statistics system, a qualification screening system for credentials not requiring documentation, and a preview system for retirement and compensation cases. In these and other ways, the MOCS is bringing the personnel management of the nation to the frontiers of real-time networking.
Promote the Establishment of Civil Servant Associations
Article 14 of the ROC Constitution states that “the people shall have freedom of assembly and association.” These freedoms are constitutionally guaranteed, and individuals should not be deprived of them just because they are employed in the civil service. Based on this view, the Examination Yuan ordered the enactment of the Civil Service Association Act on 1 January 2003, and the MOCS has been active since then promoting the establishment of civil servant associations. The MOCS has drawn up auxiliary measures, published rules and regulations, held guidance seminars, and constructed a dedicated area for associations on the MOCS website to facilitate information exchange. Further, the MOCS has formed a taskforce to assist in the formation of civil service associations, which can be called upon by individual agencies as the need arises.
Future Directions
Establish an Comprehensive Legal System for Civil Service Personnel
Improving the government’s personnel management system is an unending task, and the same goes for the legal framework underpinning that system. To meet the needs of national development and to facilitate the creative abilities of all civil servants, a comprehensive view of the personnel management system must first be established, and the foundational laws divided into concrete objectives to match that broader vision. The MOCS will continue to review and update the nation’s civil service personnel laws focusing on the following key areas:
Complete the review of the Civil Service Fundamental Act and the Civil Service Administrative Neutrality Act to balance the rights and duties of civil servants, to consolidate the various personnel laws and regulations currently extant, and to ensure civil service neutrality and relevance in a changing political environment.
Institute new laws for the management of political appointees, including completion of the new Political Appointee Act and Political Appointee Salary Act. These laws are important to delineate the roles of political appointees and permanent officials, and to clarify the rights and duties of political appointees.
Research and update the regulations governing civil service employment, performance evaluation, retirement and compensation benefits, promotion and transfer. This is necessary to increase the exchange of talent between the government and private sectors, stimulate recruitment options, and strengthen remuneration, selection and promotion systems that are based on job performance.
Integrate employment regulations to meet government demands for manpower flexibility, diversity, and the trend toward contractual appointments.
Institute Flexible Employment Systems
In order to promote efficient administration and national competitiveness, on 15 September 2002 the government reform committee launched the Government Manpower Flexibility Plan, which emphasizes that human resources are the key to administrative reform. The Plan stipulates that all levels of government should be more flexible in their use of labor resources, diversify their employment channels, and move away from the system of lifetime employment. Through these strategies, the government can strengthen its policy capacity, achieve the promise of performance-oriented management, and create a labor force that is adaptive to changing needs.
The MOCS plans to make contract hiring a key part of the government’s employment system. To this end, the MOCS is currently mapping out reforms to integrate various types of contract appointment into the civil service with the view that some positions (e.g. professionals) will be regularly filled with contract staff. Once implemented, this practice will allow senior government officials to assign confidential tasks, liaison work and executive duties to the most appropriate people. The MOCS has completed a draft of the Contract-Based Professional Personnel Act for review by the Examination Yuan and the Legislative Yuan. The document presently covers contract employment in the following professional areas: academic, science, community education, culture and training. Once complete, reforms such as this will enable the government to replace the old, rigid system of permanent lifetime employment with a new framework that is more flexible and vibrant.
Design and Implement a Performance-Based Salary System for Civil Servants
Civil servants are the principle initiators of national policy, and establishing a professional and efficient human resources system is the government’s number one task. Currently, Taiwan’s civil service salary scale is designed for fixed and regular remuneration, and does not cater well for the needs of performance-orientated management. To compensate civil servants on the basis of ‘pay for results’ and to more fully integrate performance orientated management practices, in 2004 the Ministry began planning for the introduction of a performance oriented payroll system. This idea grew out of the 2004 National Conference of Personnel Executives; a central theme of debate at the conference was ‘Establishing Performance Oriented Payroll Systems as a Means to Promote Administrative Efficiency.’
At the current stage of planning, it is anticipated that the civil service payroll will be composed of two main categories: ‘base pay’ and ‘variable pay.’ Base pay will consist of a basic salary and annual bonus, in addition to adjustments for seniority, as currently determined by the Civil Servant Pay Act. ‘Variable pay’ will include an integrated combination of the various work evaluation rewards and productivity awards currently given for exceptional on-the-job performance. The two-tiered framework is a balance between awarding civil servants in accord with their workplace contribution, with positive consequences for institutional competitiveness, and the present salary system.
Create a Sustainable and Effective Retirement Benefits and Compensation System
The administrative goals of the civil service retirement and compensation system are to build up the stock of accumulated funds from civil servant and government contributions, to increase payouts to retirees and those affected by death or injury, and provide monetary relief for qualified recipients. Confronted with Taiwan's changing social environment and an aging population, the MOCS has chosen a phased, gradual reform of the retirement system. Key changes planned for the scheme include amendment of several outdated laws, revision of the terms and conditions of retirement, adjustment of the payout rate and upper limit on the contribution rate, alteration of retirement payouts and pensions for those that leave and reenter the civil service, and reduction of lump-sum payouts for those that retire at 55 (by five base points). As regards the government’s compensation scheme, the Ministry will increase payouts for those who die on the job with limited seniority (i.e. up to 10 years), raise compensation payouts generally, and revise several outdated regulations. These various initiatives will place the government’s retirement and compensation system on solid foundations, and at the same time ensure the rights and interests of civil servants are upheld.
Continue to Promote the Utilization of Information Technology in Civil Service Affairs
To stay abreast of rapid IT developments and current trends in computer networking, the Ministry of Civil Service is committed to improving its IT systems and assisting various government personnel agencies to make use of such systems. In the future, all the government’s personnel agencies and even all civil servants will have access to the MOCS's Windows-based intranet system, where users can employ online programs to rapidly and securely perform personnel management functions. Furthermore, based on the new IT network, the MOCS is planning to establish a high-level policymaking support system that will decrease the time and increase the quality of senior decision-making. It is hoped that such initiatives will help realize the government’s goal of introducing IT facilities to all aspects of public administration.
Continue to Promote Civil Servant Associations and Association Exchanges
The MOCS will continue to support efforts to establish civil servant associations, always taking into account the circumstances and opinions of the particular government agencies and employees concerned. At the appropriate time and to the appropriate degree, this may require amendments to the Civil Servant Association Act and related regulations. When this occurs, the MOCS will pursue such changes with the utmost concern for the protection of civil servants’ statutory rights, interests and policy goals.
Apart from organizing meet-ups and social activities to facilitate exchange between civil servant associations, the MOCS is also keen to promote exchange visits and agreements between Taiwanese associations and overseas organizations. These contacts will allow Taiwanese associations to take on-board new ideas and administrative experience from other advanced countries.
Conclusion
Government is a marriage between people and public institutions; it is also is an alliance between public authority and the rights and interests of the citizenry. The quality of a country’s civil service is a reflection of the quality of these partnerships, and this in turn is a significant factor in the country’s democratization and modernization. The Ministry of Civil Service is the highest level personnel management agency in the country and is responsible for all the government’s policy, laws, planning, research and consultation in this area. The Ministry is also the key agency overseeing all matters related to the selection and appointment of all public officials, the source of executive authority for human resource management throughout the public sector, and the institutional protector and promoter of employee rights, interests and morale. While the burden the MOCS carries is substantial, all personnel within its ranks are committed to striving together to reform and advance the nation’s personnel management systems on behalf of Taiwan's 400,000 civil servants and the future development of the country as a whole.
A government is a consolidation of people and systems, and also is a hinge of the interaction of the government authority and the rights and interests of the people. The quality of civil servants serves a significant factor for the democratization and modernization of a nation. This Ministry is the highest personnel authority of the nation in charge of the national personnel policy, comprehensive planning, studying and reviewing of legal systems, as well as the related civil service matters. The functions of this Ministry are closely related to the duty performance of government agencies, protection of the rights and interests of civil servants, and enhancement of the morale of civil servants. All staff members of this Ministry, bearing their duties in mind, will exert their best efforts to coordinate and work closely with the concerned government agencies, to match up with the overall future development of the nation, and to devote to the restructuring of the personnel legal systems and the reform of civil service affairs so as to perfect the civil service systems and protect the rights and interests of civil servants.
