The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security is piloting an employment system for civil servants nationwide. Beijing Times reported.

Shenzhen province first piloted the employment system in 2007. Starting in 2010, the employment system has been officially implemented and been the only way for new workers to enter administrative positions. A staff member from Shenzhen bureau of human resources and social security said that excluding people enrolled this year, there are more than 3,000 people employed this way, and there have been no dismissals since 2010.

People who are employed through the system don’t necessarily get indefinite employment security. Unlike civil servants who are enrolled through the appointment system, it is impossible for them to return to a position once they are dismissed due to personal wrongdoing.

Treatment and promotion for employed and appointed civil servants are essentially the same. Shenzhen now has a number of employed government officials, the staff member said.

The only difference might be retirement pensions. It is slightly lower for employed workers, compared to those who are appointed, he added.

Zheng is an employed civil servant working in the Shenzhen water conservancy bureau. Compared with his classmates working for Huawei and BYD who earn a high six-figure annual salary, he only gets 9,000 yuan a month. He said he chose this job because it is more stable.

The first batch of employed civil servants in Fujian province will be placed in Zhangzhou and Xiamen. Wenzhe, deputy secretary of Xiamen civil service bureau, said that these positions require more professional skills and knowledge and the average monthly salary can be more than 10,000 yuan.

Jiangsu province will be piloting the employment system in some areas this year. Guangxi province is offering some of senior positions, and Beijing is discussing the employment plan.

“The introduction of an employment system can be a great help to break the life tenure system of civil servants. Resources and powers are usually concentrated in the hands of some government officials for a long time, so it is easy to breed corruption. Moreover, the employment system is more transparent, hence more conducive to social supervision,” said Professor Peng Jianfeng from Renmin University.

“With higher pay and shorter terms, the employment system can better spur the people’s working enthusiasm,” said Liang Yuping, dean of the civil service management laboratory at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

The deep-rooted tradition of lifetime civil servants may be resistant to the implementation of a new employment system. Domestic arrangement of civil servant’s positions is often inter-related, from one position to another. Future expansion of the employment system must completely break the fallback mechanism and strictly enforce the employment contract, Peng added.

But Liang also said that because some civil service positions still require a certain stability and continuity, it is expected that the employment system and the existing appointment system will not be able to replace each other and must coexist for a long time.