Two people born in the 1980s became the first government workers to be hired under contract in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, making Fujian another pioneering province to adopt the controversial civil service contracting system.
Lin Fujun and Lin Yuesheng signed three-year contracts with a monthly salary of 6,000 yuan ($961.2) with the Guleigang economic development zone administration Tuesday, becoming the first two government employees in the province who were not included as state administrative staff with wages and benefits covered by the state public finance, according to the Xiamen-based Haixia Daobao newspaper.
Unlike permanent public employees, the contracted workers will have to pay a certain proportion of their own medical insurance and pension as do employees of enterprises.
The new system has broken the "iron rice bowl" of ordinary government workers, Cheng Jizhong, deputy director with the Zhangzhou City Administration of Civil Service, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
In addition to Zhangzhou, Xiamen and Pingtan counties in Fujian Province have also been chosen by the Fujian Provincial Administration of Civil Service as pilot areas to carry out the new contract employment system.
As early as 2007 and 2009, the Shenzhen government in Guangdong Province first hired 53 government workers under term contracts, and continued to popularize the system to all the new civil servants in the city's government departments starting in January 1, 2010, the People's Daily reported. Sichuan Province in May began a trial that will see many of its workers put on term contracts.
Landmark building should respect the public's feeling