More than 15,800 civil servants were fired, transferred or asked to take early retirement from overstaffed departments last year, the Communist Party of China Organization Department said yesterday.

About 40,000 officials of deputy county head level or higher were deemed surplus to requirements. The remaining 25,000 are still waiting to be “handled,” according to an official statement.

Officials began dealing with the overstaffing problem last January. It ruled that no new officials should be appointed to overstaffed departments before the surplus has been eliminated.

The department promised to resolve the problem and other violations, such as ad-hoc promotions and the illegal creation of posts without any clear function within three years.

Also yesterday, the top anti-graft body said 5,340 officials were reprimanded last month for violating working practice policies, taking the number punished since late 2012 past 100,000. Those found guilty last month were involved in 4,238 violation cases, the Communist Party of China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in its monthly report.

Their violations included disobeying workplace rules, using public funds to pay for overseas travel and personal entertainment, lazy work practices, excessive spending on receptions and vehicles, and sending or accepting gifts.

As of the end of last year, more than 102,000 officials have been dealt with for breaches of the Party’s “eight-point” rules, which were introduced in December 2012.