Kerala Cabinet says no to raising retirement age to 60

The Cabinet on Wednesday decided to reject an Administrative Reforms Commission proposal to raise the retirement age of government employees to 60 years.

The Cabinet approved the recommendations of the Chief Secretary-led panel tasked with examining the recommendations of the fourth Administrative Reforms Commission - Kerala.

The Cabinet also decided to create the Kerala Civil Service Code by combining Kerala Service Rules, the Kerala State and Subordinate Service Rules and the Kerala Government Servants Conduct Rules.

The Personnel and Administrative Reforms Commission has been tasked with drafting the Kerala Civil Service Code.

Instructions will be issued for drafting special rules in all departments within the next two years. Posts created for specific purposes will be scrapped once the target or the purpose is achieved, the Cabinet decided. Staff in such posts will be redeployed to other areas.

The Cabinet also decided to form a joint committee for resolving disputes related to transfers. Further, the Cabinet gave in-principle nod to a proposal to introduce eligibility tests for special skills, if any, required for promotions. Moreover, vacancies, once reported to the Public Service Commission, cannot be cancelled, it decided.

There should be clarity regarding posts and eligibility criteria for speeding up appoints to the posts reserved for differently abled candidates. Annual health check-ups will be introduced for all employees. Disciplinary action, if any, against an official should be completed one month ahead of his/her retirement, the Cabinet decided.

Published - November 27, 2024 08:31 pm IST