People's Party deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakun has urged the government to rethink its proposed early retirement scheme for civil servants, arguing that it has put the cart before the horse by prioritising workforce reductions before deciding which state agencies should be merged or abolished.
Her comments followed Deputy Prime Minister Pakorn Nilprapunt's announcement of a broad civil service reform plan, which includes dissolving agencies with overlapping responsibilities and offering voluntary early retirement packages to affected personnel. The first organisation slated for dissolution is the Land Bank Administration Institute, whose functions will be transferred to the Office of the National Land Policy Board from September.
Ms Sirikanya said the government should first conduct a comprehensive review of ministries and state agencies to determine which functions remain necessary before deciding which organisations should be merged or dissolved.
"It is illogical to discuss early retirement before deciding which agencies should be dissolved," she said, adding that the government appeared to be announcing reforms on a piecemeal basis rather than presenting a coherent blueprint.
Once that review is complete, authorities should restructure the workforce based on operational needs rather than relying solely on voluntary departures, she said. Otherwise, the scheme could encourage the most capable officials to leave while doing little to reduce the overall size of the bureaucracy.
She also questioned whether the proposal would attract enough participants. More than 8,000 comments had been submitted within three days of the public consultation opening, reflecting widespread concern over the scheme, she said.
Ms Sirikanya argued that the compensation package, capped at 12 months' salary, offered little incentive, particularly for civil servants aged 40 to 49 who would not yet qualify for pension benefits if they resigned.
"The project is unlikely to attract even the government's target of 4,000 to 5,000 participants," she said. "If the long-term goal is to reduce the state workforce from three million to two million people, this scheme simply is not attractive enough."
She said the proposal should undergo a six- to 12-month study rather than being rushed, arguing it would have little impact on the budget.
