HR system poses threats to employees and society

The public insurance and social protection expert, Mousa Al-Sbihi, stated that the new public sector HR management system No. 33 of 2024, effective from July 1, 2024, would negatively impact public employees and their families, the public sector, social security, societal stability, and the economy.

The Al-Sbihi highlighted the following key negative impacts:

The reduced quality of public services due to employee instability and insecurity.

Lowered public sector efficiency due to preoccupation with structural formalities, organization, plans, and evaluations, leading to weakened private sector support.

Increased anxiety and confusion among employees about job security and future stability.

Weakened employee loyalty due to a lack of fair, transparent standards based on merit and equal opportunity.

Increased favoritism and nepotism in employee-related procedures, from pre-employment to appointment, probation, evaluation, and contract renewal or termination.

Tens of thousands of early retirements due to granting authorities the power to retire employees meeting early retirement criteria without their request.

Loss of jobs for thousands of employees on unpaid leave working outside the kingdom, forced to return due to leave restrictions.

Reduced remittances from Jordanian expatriates as many employees on unpaid leave return to the country.

Harm to the state’s social protection system due to easy employee termination, leading to increased poverty and loss of protection coverage.

Weakened financial position of the Social Security Corporation due to forced early retirements, potentially causing a financial deficit in the public sector fund in the coming years.

Increased internal conflicts among public sector employees due to four main reasons: performance-based annual raises, three-month probationary appointments, fixed-term contracts and their renewals, and promotion methods for vacant positions.

Encouragement of job cliques, as employees seek to gain their direct supervisor’s favor for evaluations and benefits.

Major issues and injustices due to the vague criteria for terminating employees deemed unable to perform tasks.

Protection of high-ranking employees from service termination upon reaching retirement age, exempting them from such rules and ensuring they receive ministerial salaries.

Public sector instability due to fluctuating administrative and organizational systems, linked to strategic plans that may be influenced by the whims of officials, affecting public service delivery.

Loss of opportunities for the majority of job seekers registered with the Public Service Commission, as appointments from the commission’s database will be minimal through 2024-2026, after which the database will be abolished.

Deprivation of employees’ educational advancement opportunities due to restrictions on unpaid leave and lack of provisions for study leave, causing social problems.

Easy dismissal of employees during restructuring, mergers, or closures of departments, with a ministerial committee granted the authority to retire, place on reserve, or terminate employees.

Violation of employees’ constitutional rights to protest, strike, or criticize constructively.

Increased poverty due to prohibiting public employees from working outside official hours, instead of regulating and allowing it within guidelines, especially for low-income jobs.

The Public Service and Administration Authority launched its 2024-2027 strategy on Monday, aimed at solidifying its organizational and developmental role in HR, services, organizational structures, governance, performance management, government leadership, and institutional culture.

Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of State for Public Sector Modernization, Nasser Al-Shraideh, stated, “We are witnessing the start of a new phase of work. The administrative modernization desired by King Abdullah II prioritizes serving the nation and citizens through updating public administration, enhancing institutional and individual performance, and improving governance tools by reengineering processes, removing obstacles, and digitizing and automating services for easy and effective citizen access.”

Al-Shraideh emphasized that the launched strategy meets aspirations and reflects a clear understanding of the new roles entrusted to the authority, ensuring full cooperation with all institutions and ministries.

He announced the implementation of the new public sector HR system and the amended civil service system, applicable to newly appointed employees, ensuring their rights and financial benefits.

He explained that the HR management system aims to enhance the performance of human resources, which is fundamental to public sector modernization. The Public Service and Administration Authority will ensure ministries and institutions comply with these new systems and collaborate with various entities to build their technical and administrative capacities.