YEREVAN, FERUARY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. It is 5 years since the Civil Service Council (CSC) started functioning in Armenia but the system is still being formed. CSC Chairman Manvel Badalian said at the February 7 meeting with reporters at the Urbat Club that over twenty legal acts were adopted at the first stage of the system's formation, while at the second stage the process of filling vacancies for civil servants started. Now the system has entered the stage of qualitative changes and improvement. In M. Badalian's words, the major obstacle to establishment of the system is the psychological factor as the idea of civil service is a new one in our society. He noted that even now many try to undergo certification in an "easy way". But he assured that "no one has been and will be certified thanks to his/her relatives". He added that even the country's president and prime minister cannot put pressure on him. "I am protected by an agreement that the president and prime minister will not interfere," he said. M. Badalian said that since 2002, the CSC has held 4,200 contests for civil servant vacancies, and there were no winners in 520 contests. The system has 7,231 positions for civil servants and will also include 284 poistions of the Rescue Service in the near future. According to M. Badalian, the employee turnover has declined in the system. This year the basic salary of civil servants was increased but this is not enough to reduce the number of those who leave the state sector to work in the private one.

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