Source: Undesnii Shuudan, Ardiin Erkh             June 17, 2010

Meeting separately, both the MPRP and the DP parliamentary groups this week decided that the proposal to retrench 7,000 Government workers should not even be discussed this year. It could be included in the 2011 budget and debated when the preliminary draft for that is submitted to Parliament at its Autumn session.

A working group set up by Parliament to identify ways to bring down the budget deficit to levels acceptable to the IMF had proposed the retrenchment in state organizations. The DP MPs felt the question is not just one of dismissing 7,000 Government employees, who include teachers and doctors. There is widespread concern and criticism that the quality of work in both education and health sectors continues to be unsatisfactory. The DP feels proper management of the budget will achieve better results than just ordering the Government to cut jobs. Individual sectors should decide what salary is to be given to employees, and how to penalize incompetence as well as reward efficiency. The DP MPs feel some private sector management practices should be followed in government service also.

The MPRP group accepted that MNT8 billion must be cut from administrative expenses, but the lives of many people depended on that money and no hasty decision should be taken, especially during a period of economic recession. The popular perception that the government structure is too big ignores the fact that it includes teachers and doctors. The MPRP group favored a complete overhaul of the administrative structure under a plan to be debated in the Autumn session.