Constitutional post holders to be paid more

May 3, 2009: The chairpersons of constitutional bodies will be paid more than civil servants in the EX 1 level, according to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).
The government, before the recent pay hike discussion, had proposed that the present pay and entitlements of the constitutional post holders will be equivalent to the positions they held in the civil service.
The OAG is drafting a bill on the salary and entitlements of the constitutional post holders and autonomous agencies which will be tabled in the summer session of the National Assembly.
The constitutional post holders include chairpersons of the Royal Civil Service Commission, the Royal Audit Authority, the Anti Corruption Commission, the Chief Election Commissioner and the Supreme Court Chief Justice. They will be eligible to 20% of their salary as housing allowance, telephone bills and daily subsistence allowance.
Keeping in mind the tenure of five years, the OAG is proposing the salary and entitlements of the constitutional post holders to be a bit higher than the civil servants in the EX 1 level.
The OAG will be fixing their retirement benefits based on the limited number of years they get to serve and the importance of their posts.
“The posts they hold are very important, so when they retire they have to live up to it, we have to look into that matter too,” said Tandin Dorji, an OAG official.
The 18-page Salary and Entitlements Bill is still a draft and is subject to changes, according to Tandin Dorji.
As of now, as an interim measure, the salary and entitlements of all constitutional post holders and judges of the supreme court and high court is equivalent to that of an EX 1 level official in the civil service.
The pay, allowances, and other benefits for the judges of the supreme court and the high court were placed at levels ranging from EX1 to EX3 levels.
According to Article 31 of the Constitution, “The salary, tenure, discipline and other conditions of service of the holders of constitutional offices shall be as prescribed by law, provided that the salary and benefits of the holders of constitutional offices shall not be varied to their disadvantage after appointment.”
The pay revision of other commissioners in the constitutional bodies will also be included in this bill, said Tandin Dorji.
The tenure for the chairpersons of constitutional bodies and autonomous agencies will be five years; however the commissioners are eligible for reappointments.
There will also be a provision on the resignation of the constitutional post holders. “They can voluntarily submit their resignation on approval by the Druk Gyalpo,” said Tandin Dorji.