Circular No. 257/TTg guiding the implementation of Directive No. 184-TTg of the Prime Minister on managing staffing for state agencies.

CIRCULAR

OF THE PRIME MINISTER NO. 257/TTG AUGUST 27, 1980
GUIDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DIRECTIVE NO. 184-TTg OF THE PRIME MINISTER
ON THE MANAGEMENT OF STAFF ESTABLISHMENTS OF STATE ORGANIZATIONS

On June 6, 1980, the Prime Minister issued Directive No. 184-TTg on strictly managing staff establishments of state organizations.

In order for Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Council of Ministers, and People's Committees of provinces and cities to effectively implement the aforementioned Directive, this Circular further clarifies some points regarding the content of the Directive and provides guidance on handling specific cases as follows:

1. Temporarily suspend recruitment of new personnel into administrative and public service agencies (including administrative agencies within production units).

The entities subject to temporarily suspending additional recruitment are administrative and public service agencies at provincial level (Departments, Bureaus, or equivalent organizations) and the administrative management machinery of production and business organizations (enterprises, associations of enterprises, integrated enterprises, Companies, State Corporations, etc.). The following organizations are not subject to implementing this policy:

- General education schools at all levels, including general education secondary schools combining work and study, and cultural literacy supplementary schools;

- Medical prevention and treatment facilities under the health sector;

- Counties in highland areas of mountainous provinces which the Provincial People's Committee decides to recruit people from ethnic minorities to meet county needs, but still must comply with staffing quotas prescribed by the Government for the county level.

2. Maintain the number of personnel present as of December 31, 1979 until the staffing quota approved by the Council of Ministers is reviewed.

The number of personnel present as of December 31, 1979 refers to the actual number of personnel used and paid salaries by the agency or unit. If this number differs from the staffing quota assigned by the competent authority for the agency or unit in 1980, it shall be handled as follows:

a. If the number of personnel present as of December 31, 1979 is lower than the assigned staffing quota, the agency or unit may rationalize tasks so as not to recruit additional personnel. If the agency or unit requires sufficient staffing quota, they should request the competent authority to adjust from other places.

b. If the number of personnel present as of December 31, 1979 exceeds the assigned staffing quota, the head of the agency or unit must base their resolution on current policies and regulations to address the excess personnel; transfer them to other agencies or units (primarily production units) that have a need; retire those who have reached retirement age; allow those who voluntarily wish to return to their families for agricultural or handicraft production to leave their positions. If the authority has exhausted its powers and cannot resolve the issue, they should report to higher authorities for adjustment from other places. The Provincial People's Committee or the head of the central department will examine and resolve adjustments between surplus and deficient locations within the province or industry. If internal adjustments within the industry or province are insufficient to meet the assigned staffing quota, the Provincial People's Committee or the head of the department will report to the Prime Minister for adjustments from other industries or provinces.

c. For personnel recruited from January 1, 1980 to June 6, 1980, the resolution shall be as follows:

- If they are unskilled workers (without training), they should be returned to their place of residence to participate in production labor (except for recruitment for highland counties mentioned in Article 1 above).

- If they have been trained at universities, vocational high schools, or vocational schools (domestic or foreign), they must be transferred to production and business establishments or public service institutions to utilize their skills appropriately. If these establishments lack staffing quotas to absorb and utilize them, the Provincial People's Committee or the Ministry in charge of the industry will adjust them to units within the same industry that require and have staffing quotas available. Except for certain industries mentioned in Clause a, Article 5 below, generally, newly trained personnel (university and vocational high school graduates) should not be added to administrative state agencies at provincial level or higher. In special cases where it is necessary to recruit newly trained personnel into such agencies, it must be approved by the immediate superior authority, but it should not exceed the staffing quota already assigned to the agency.

3. Regarding the temporary suspension of recruitment of novice teachers into staffing establishments: localities that have included novice teachers in labor plans and salaries but have not yet officially recruited them, currently receiving 85% of primary school teacher salaries and being regulated by agricultural cooperatives, should now revert to receiving monthly allowances funded by the commune and provincial budgets as stipulated in Article 1 (Part II) of Decision No. 152-TTg dated April 8, 1976 of the Prime Minister, without recording them in the national labor and salary plan.

4. Regarding staffing for newly established organizations:

Industries and localities must self-adjust within the existing total staffing and wage fund to allocate personnel to newly established organizations. In exceptional cases requiring additional staffing for newly established organizations, heads of industries or Provincial People's Committees should report to the Prime Minister for approval.

5. Regarding the distribution of graduating students:

a. From now on, all graduating students from universities, high schools, and vocational schools must be distributed to grassroots units: enterprises, agricultural and forestry farms, stations, camps, design institutes operating on economic accounting or cost reporting, hospitals for treatment and rehabilitation, health stations, general education school systems, supplementary education schools, scientific research institutes, universities, vocational schools, cultural performance groups, film projection teams, agricultural and forestry cooperatives, fishery cooperatives, or handicraft cooperatives.

Only students who have graduated can be distributed to work in administrative agencies at various levels in the following circumstances:

- Students who previously worked in state agencies or served in the military for five years or more;

- In 1980, the following fields were permitted to allocate new university or high school graduates to administrative management agencies and research agencies at the provincial level or higher: the legal field and certain basic science fields proposed by the Science and Technology Committee. The Ministry of Higher Education and Specialized Secondary Schools, the Government Legal Council, and the State Science and Technology Committee shall consult with the State Planning Committee to provide specific guidance on the implementation of this provision.

b. The State Planning Committee, the Ministry of Higher Education and Specialized Secondary Schools shall coordinate with relevant agencies: the Government Organizational Department, the Ministry of Labor, and ministries with schools to develop plans for allocating the number of graduates from the 1980 academic year for submission to the Prime Minister for decision. For those graduates who have no immediate employment needs, the Ministries, General Departments, or Provincial People's Committees with schools must categorize them according to their training fields and submit the statistics to the State Planning Committee for the government's directive on resolution.

6. Regarding the establishment of staffing norms and the study of supplementary policies:

a. Ministries and General Departments must combine the implementation of Directive No. 112-TTg dated April 12, 1980, issued by the Prime Minister on rectifying organizational structures and decentralizing management to establish standards for civil servant and employee positions and staffing norms applicable throughout the sector from central to local levels. The Government Organizational Department shall establish standards and staffing norms for the operational machinery of People's Committees and organizations not under any ministry's jurisdiction. Draft regulations concerning these standards and norms must be submitted to the government for review at the beginning of 1981.

Pending the issuance of regulations on staffing standards and norms, heads of sectors and Provincial People's Committees must base their actions on current state regulations to immediately eliminate organizations established contrary to state regulations; direct subordinate agencies to address unreasonable situations such as overlapping organizational structures and unclear responsibilities. On this basis, temporarily determine the staffing requirements for each agency and unit as a foundation for developing the 1981 labor and salary plan. If the staffing plan proposal of a sector or locality exceeds the staffing quota assigned in 1980, then the sector or locality must consult with the Government Organizational Department and the State Planning Committee to submit to the government for decision.

b. The Ministry of Labor and the Government Organizational Department shall study and submit to the government for amendments and supplements to the policy regarding cadres and graduates working in collective economic sectors, and the treatment of graduates who cannot be immediately employed.

- The Ministry of Veterans Affairs and Social Welfare shall study and submit to the government for amendments and supplements to the retirement and disability leave policies; pay special attention to resolving issues for individuals who, although not yet retirement age, have worked continuously for over 20 years and are now unable to fulfill their duties due to poor health, and amend the procedures for retirement.

- The Ministry of Higher Education and Specialized Secondary Schools, in coordination with the State Planning Committee and related ministries, shall submit to the government for amendments and supplements to the regulations on training, allocation, and utilization of graduates. These regulations need to ensure a balance between training and employment needs. Graduates must undergo practical experience at the grassroots level, emphasize discipline in implementing job assignment decisions, and clearly define conditions for working in mountainous and island areas.

All draft proposals mentioned above must be completed in 1980 and submitted for the government's review at the beginning of 1981.

The Government Organizational Department is responsible for monitoring, urging, and inspecting the implementation of Directive No. 184-TTg and this Circular.