Chapter 605

The seventh agenda item, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Head of the Organization Department Lu Fan reported on the issue of clearing non-regular staff.

Lu Fan said: "In recent years, various levels and departments have exposed prominent problems such as arbitrary entry and exit of non-regular staff, uneven quality, improper management and use, increased fiscal burden, and many lingering issues, which have become a hot topic of social concern, reaching a point where they must be addressed."

In some regions and departments, the screening and hiring process is highly arbitrary, which has led many people to secure recruitment through connections. After entering the unit relying on connections, many are unwilling to work diligently, not only wasting staff quotas but also adding extra expenses.

This leads to work backlog, and when tasks cannot be completed, temporary staff must be hired again, forming a vicious cycle that results in an excess of non-regular staff and increases the government's administrative expenditures.

Moreover, within the same unit, non-regular staff perform the same work as regular staff, sometimes even more and better, yet their pay is far lower, resulting in equal work for unequal pay. This causes many non-regular staff to feel psychologically unbalanced, leading them to simply 'give up' and lose motivation at work, which is another notable phenomenon.

In contrast, regular staff enjoy benefits but fail to fulfill their positional value, even prematurely shifting into a retirement mode, leading to work being passed around, shirked, and perfunctorily handled.

Let me give an example: the province issues a document and assigns a task; the city passes it to the county, the county to the township; the township secretary assigns it to the deputy in charge, who then assigns the work to dispatched cadres, and the cadres hand it over to contract workers. In the end, no matter how important the task, the responsibility falls on the contract workers—this happens every day, utterly absurd! Can cadres not do the work? If they truly cannot, what are they for?

Carrying out the clearance work aims to standardize employment practices, remove redundant staff, reduce organizational and managerial risks in work, have regular staff resume their duties, and avoid the situation where regular staff are idle while non-regular staff are overworked.

Publicity Department Chief Qin Mengyang said: 'It cannot be denied that the direct cause of the emergence of non-regular staff is the increase in workload. If we were to clear all of them, would it not be somewhat unfair to them? It might even affect the normal operation of the unit. To ensure quality and quantity in completing work, many tasks require assistance from non-regular staff. Moreover, non-regular staff have indirectly solved employment issues for some people; if they are hastily dismissed, how would their livelihood be sustained?'

Lu Fan glanced at Qin Mengyang and said lightly: "Comrade Mengyang's worries are unnecessary; when we work, we cannot give up eating because of choking—if something is unreasonable, we must resolve to govern it."

A comprehensive clearance of non-regular staff would concentrate all work on regular staff, who are accustomed to laxity and usually delegate most tasks to non-regular staff, enjoying easy and carefree work; when problems arise, they are basically blamed on non-regular staff. Suddenly increasing workload and difficulty would be hard for them to adapt to in the short term, and pressure would indeed surge.

But is this their excuse for lying flat? The state has set staffing numbers for each department, scientifically formulated and in line with reality; if they cannot complete work tasks, it only shows they are incompetent and undeserving of their salaries. The state spending money to support a group of idle old masters is something the public cannot accept, and the era of relying on non-regular staff to do work must be gone forever!

Streamlining non-regular staff will not provoke much reaction from college students, nor will non-regular workers have many complaints, given that the contract system itself lacks stability and wages are not high; many have long prepared to switch careers at any time.

If a unit genuinely has a heavy workload and staff shortage, it can be directly given additional quota, with the rule of 'advance only after passing examination'!

Governor Liu Linghao said: "Clearing non-regular staff is an important measure aimed at reducing government expenditures and easing fiscal pressure. Especially under the current unfavorable economic situation, fiscal revenue cannot bear the pressure of high expenditures, necessitating cuts to unnecessary spending, making the clearance of non-regular staff an urgent task."

Moreover, clearing non-regular staff can improve the efficiency of government institutions, enhance government credibility and image, which is one of the current important work directions. If regular staff cannot complete their work tasks, how can they justifiably take their salaries?

The provincial government will fully support the clearance work!

The support of Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary Zhao Lingyun is simple and resolute; he said: 'Whether it's a golden rice bowl or an iron rice bowl, to hold it well one must first bear its weight and strive for excellence. Currently, economic downward pressure continues to increase; clearing non-regular staff is unstoppable, and the Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee will cooperate with the clearance work!'

The Governor, Deputy Secretary, and Discipline Inspection Committee Secretary expressed firm attitudes; Wang Jingchen assessed the situation and stated: 'The clearance of non-regular staff shall be specifically handled by the Organization Department, which must strictly supervise and inspect, establishing a joint supervision mechanism. The Discipline Inspection, Organization Office, Human Resources Bureau, Finance Bureau, Audit, and other departments shall jointly conduct full-process supervision of non-regular staff employment, intensifying investigations into private hiring, over-quota hiring, over-scope use, and 'empty pay' issues, punishing each case found.'

Lu Fan, please elaborate on how to carry out the work.

'Okay, Secretary,' Lu Fan continued reporting: 'From early November to the end of March, divided into three stages: self-inspection and self-check, organizational implementation, and inspection supervision. All provincial-level departments, following the principle of 'who uses, who is responsible, who clears,' will remove redundant personnel.'

Establish the Leading Group for Clearing Non-regular Staff Employment in Huayuan Province, headed by the Provincial Party Committee Organization Department, with me as team leader, and the heads of the Provincial Organization Office, Provincial Human Resources Bureau, and Provincial Finance Bureau as deputy team leaders; the coordination group's office will be located in the Organization Department.

1. Conduct categorized surveys to further verify the numbers, fiscal expenditures, and management of non-regular staff, focusing on systems such as urban management, forestry, and health where non-regular staff numbers are large and situations complex, to understand hiring reasons, policy basis, approval procedures, etc., and conduct in-depth research on clearance and normalization measures.

2. Carry out work with high standards. Unify work procedures, concentrate on using three months' time, uniformly follow reporting based on submission status, conduct personnel clearance, and implement organizational comprehensive assessment. Unify work standards and requirements to ensure the clearance work achieves the expected effects and goals.

3. All non-regular staff used in service windows shall be cleared.

4. Fully clear employed non-regular staff in units that are fully staffed or overstaffed.

5. For the education, health, and public security systems, determine the quota of non-regular staff based on each unit's workload size, personnel, and post distribution allocation.

……

For those who should be cleared but are anonymously reported, concealed, delay the clearance process, or falsify information, once verified, the unit's head shall be removed from office on the spot!

After the report ended, everyone knew that Huayuan Province would again become the focus of public opinion. Speaking frankly, the standing committee members still admire Lu Fan's thinking in planning work, the refinement of work measures, the promotion of work measures, and his ability to implement work.

The final agenda item, Deputy Minister Zou Weipeng of the Provincial Party Committee Organization Department reported the personnel adjustment plan, which was unanimously approved.

As expected, this adjustment again involves four people from Nanyuan City: Li Qian appointed as secretary of the Xija County Party Committee, Ma Yang nominated as candidate for Xija County magistrate, Wang Pan appointed as secretary of the Shexian County Party Committee, and Ren Hanqing nominated as candidate for Shexian County magistrate.

Furthermore, two division directors of the Provincial Party Committee Organization Department have been transferred out: Hu Tiankang appointed as a member of the Luojun Municipal Party Committee and Vice Mayor, and Zheng Jiang appointed as deputy director of the Provincial Development and Reform Commission.

Although everyone knows that this adjustment was led by Secretary Wang Jingchen, yet Nanyuan City and the Organization Department have also promoted and reused six people, prompting everyone to sigh that Secretary Lu truly 'has a hand'!

After the meeting ended, Publicity Department Chief Qin Mengyang followed Secretary Wang Jingchen to the office, and upon entering said: 'Secretary, Secretary Lu shows great determination in his work; relying on clearing non-regular staff, I estimate our Huayuan will again make headlines!'

Wang Jingchen smiled faintly and said: 'Since he wants to do it, let him do it—this is quite good! Such a thankless task that offends people is not something many are willing to undertake; it not only consumes time and effort but ultimately yields effort without reward. It is foreseeable that clearing so many non-regular staff will certainly not reduce petition issues, and cadres will also complain; let him handle them one by one.'

Qin Mengyang echoed: 'Secretary truly has far-sighted vision; actually I also cannot understand why he would undertake such a thankless task—this is 'high wind and noble integrity'! Secretary, this time the Organization Department transferred out two people, Nanyuan used four, and now there is a voice in Huayuan that Secretary Lu can hold half the sky, with the 'Lu family faction' growing stronger!'

Wang Jingchen furrowed his brows and said: 'The position of Nanyuan was decided long ago, and the Organization Department's transfers were also approved by me. Mengyang, you need to broaden your perspective; do not say things that are detrimental to unity. He is the Deputy Secretary and also heads the Organization Department; personnel matters cannot avoid him.'

'What the Secretary criticized is my narrow-mindedness! I haven't yet thanked you for your strong support of the Publicity Department's work. After Li Wei went to work at the Provincial Broadcasting Station, the deputy chief position became vacant; I want to carry out a round of personnel adjustments in the Publicity Department, involving the promotion of one deputy chief.'

Wang Jingchen thought for a moment and said: 'Go talk to Lu Fan first!'

Hearing this, Qin Mengyang felt somewhat resentful inside; he really did not want to lower himself before Lu Fan, but as the Secretary said, adjusting personnel cannot avoid him.

Returning to the Organization Department, Lu Fan summoned Deputy Minister Zou Weipeng, Gao Shuo, and Wu Yunhui to the office, instructing them to quickly select candidates for the head of the Cadre Division One and the deputy director of the Evaluation Office.

Zou Weipeng wanted to understand the leader's intention and requested guidance on the scope and criteria for employment.

Lu Fan pondered and said: "Employment must be fair to acquire talent; as the Organization Department, all provincial cadres are watching, so selecting and employing people must adhere more strictly to the principles of fairness, justice, and openness, prioritizing those with strong dedication and comprehensive ability, who dare to take responsibility and shoulder duties, selecting and appointing talent in accordance with regulations and systems, enhancing the credibility of selection and employment, ensuring honest people do not suffer losses and opportunists do not gain advantages, and through strong work measures to curb malpractices in selection and employment."

If these two positions are used properly, they can leverage adjustments of over a dozen positions, ideally enabling everyone to 'make a move'; we must promptly publish the results of democratic recommendations, evaluation criteria, organizational inspection circumstances, and performance assessment information, so that everyone can compete from the same starting line, making cadre appointments transparent, able to withstand scrutiny, and truly embody fairness and justice.